^'i^'^' 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,   N.  J. 
Presented  by 

TVie.  Widow  o-f  Greorc5eL liiAc^n  ^    S4 

BV  4275  .S3  1883 
Sanderson,  Joseph,  1823- 

1915. 
Memorial  tributes 


XL-> 


/-I 


// 


Ill|iiilel!ll 


mB. 


„v„  iilSlii.  'III! 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES. 


^  Coinucnb  of  Juncral  ^.bbresseg. ^- 


AN  AID   FOR  PASTORS. 


A  BOOK  OF  COMFORT  FOR  THE  BEREAVED. 


y  EDITED    BY 

J.    SANDERSON,   D.D., 

AUTHOR  OF 

'Jesus  ox  the  Holt  Moitn-t,"'  axd  Editor  op  "Thb  Puxpit  TBEAflUKT.*' 


INTRODUCTION   BY 

JOHK  HALL,  D.D., 

Pastob  FrwH  Avenue  Presbtterian  Chubch,  Nbw  York. 


NEW  YORK: 
E.   B.   TREAT,    5    COOPER    UXIOX 

Ofl&ce  of  The  Treasury  Magazine.     Price,  $1.75. 


Copyright, 

J  883, 

By  E.  B.  Treat,  New  York. 


INTEODUCTION. 


JoHK  Hall,  D.D. 

Pastor  of  Fifth  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York. 


'T^HERE  are  few  more  delicate  tasks  falling  to  the  lot 
of  a  minister  than  the  conducting  of  what  are 
known  as  funeral  services.  It  does  not  meet  the  diffi- 
culty to  have  provided  for  him  a  form  employed  over 
all,  without  exception— the  best  proof  of  which  is  that 
where  such  a  form  is  in  fixed  use,  occasions  are  con- 
stantly arising  in  which  the  clergyman  is  constrained,  by 
his  own  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things,  to  add  words  of 
his  own.  He  thus  runs  the  risk  of  making  invidious 
distinctions,  while  the  uniform  employment  of  the  same 
language,  if  it  be  fit  in  the  case  of  a  decided  Christian,  is 
stronger  than  the  Christian  consciousness  recognizes  at 
fit  where  no  profession  of  faith  has  been  made. 

Among  the  ways  in  which  the  minister  can  prepare 
himself  to  discharge  this  duty  is  by  the  prayerful  use  of 
such  hfelps  as  are  within  reach.  Foremost  among  these 
is  the  word  of  God,  next  in  place  will  be  the  suggestive 
examples   set   by   men,  in    whom,   nntwithst. ending  the 

[v| 


ti  INTRODUGTTOn. 

imperfections  of  our  common  nature,  good  sense  and 
knowledge  of  human  nature  have  been  elevated  and  con- 
secrated by  grace. 

There  are  many  ministers,  who,  like  the  present 
writer,  have  been  censured  for  statements  made  over  the 
dead  when  they  carefully  guarded  their  testimony  and 
avowedly  confined  it  to  the  record  of  their  own  inter- 
course with  the  deceased ;  and  some,  who  have  had 
*'  hearers"  take  their  departure  because  enough  was  not 
said  in  eulogy  of  their  buried  kindred.  Such  things 
must  probably  be  expected  in  the  complications  of  a 
society,  partly  Christianized,  and  largely  influenced  by 
conventional  usage.  A  true  minister  can  only  try  to 
maintain  in  himself  a  conscience  void  of  offence,  and 
at  the  same  time  avoid  the  giving  of  just  offence  to 
others. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Sanderson,  in  undertaking  to  aid  young 
ministers,  has  two  elements  of  encouragement  in  the  at- 
tempt. The  first  is  that  he  has  been  himself  an  active 
pastor,  and  understands  the  w^ork  to  be  done.  The 
second  is,  that  not  wholly  relying  on  his  own  judgment, 
he  avails  himself  of  the  labors  of  others,  who  have 
secured  the  confidence  of  the  Christian  community. 

In  commending  his  undertaking  I  maybe  permitted 
to  reproduce  words  long  ago  intended  to  warn  against 
excessive  and  indiscriminate  praise^  and  which  the 
observation  of  later  years  has  not  tended  to  weaken,  but 
rather  confirmed. 

Suppose  Herod  Antipas  had  died  six  months  before 
John   the    Baptist    was   beheaded.       Imagine   a   coui't- 


INTRODUCTION.  vil 

preacher  of  the  day  making  the  funeral  address.  There 
is  no  evidence  that  the  Jews  had  at  that  time  any  eervice- 
book  or  anything  to  read  in  the  synagogue  except  the  Old 
Testament.  So  he  must  make  his  funeral  ser'vice  accord- 
ing to  the  circumstances.  He  would,  of  course,  glance 
lightly  at  that  infelicity  of  the  royal  departed  which  com- 
plicated his  domestic  life  by  making  him  the  husband  of 
his  niece,  who  was  also  his  living  brother's  wife,  and  in 
the  room  of  his  living  wife.  '^  There  are,  however,  hap- 
pily other  and  brighter  spots  on  which  the  memory 
would  love  to  linger.  He  had  shown  the  deepest  interest 
in  that  great  revival  preacher  who  had,  as  all  knew, 
stirred  the  hearts  of  thousands.  He  had  heard  him  of- 
ten, and  been  deeply  impressed.  He  had  even  opened 
his  house  to  him.  He  gave  the  influence  of  his  great 
name  and  authority  to  him,  so  that  the  courtiers,  as 
they  all  knew,  had  been  also  attracted  and  interested. 
Not  only  that,  but  the  distinguished  dead  had  proved  the 
depth  and  sincerity  of  his  convictions  by  doing  many 
things  recommended  by  the  eloquent  preacher.  How 
can  we,  in  view  of  all  these  evidences  of  pleasure  and 
profit  from  such  ministrations,  doubt  that  this  child  of 
an  Idumean  family  has  gone  to  be  with  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob  ?  "  Unfortunately,  however,  Herod  lived  too 
long,  and  his  having  a  place  in  history  is  mainly  due  to 
the  circumstance  that  he  ordered  the  beheading  of  this 
**  interesting "  and  eloquent  preacher  without  the 
formality  of  a  trial,  and  from  being  a  patronizing  and 
interested  hearer  becomes  the  Baptist's  murderer. 

It    is    one    tiling    to    like   a   stirring    sermon    now 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

and  then,  the  reality  of  which  is  a  pleasant  variety 
among  the  shallow  and  painted  frauds  of  the  theatre, 
and  opera,  and  even  fashionable  social  life,  and  it  is 
quite  another  to  believe  with  the  heart  what  is  said.  It 
is  one  thing  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  prominent  men 
in  the  church,  and  so  conciliate  their  followers,  now  and 
then  to  give  a  subscription,  perhaps  even  forego  a  din- 
ner-party to  preside  at  a  benevolent  meeting;  and  it  is 
quite  another  to  submit  one's  self  to  God  in  faith  and 
obedience.  It  is  one  thing  to  respect  devoted  men,  and 
even  publicly  compliment  them  as  sincere  and  so  forth, 
and  quite  another  to  put  lusts  and  passions  under  the 
control  of  the  truth  they  teach,  and  to  deny  ungodliness 
and  worldly  lusts.  But  to  rich  and  poor,  high  and 
low,  this  is  the  divine  requirement;  and  we  must  be 
sparing  of  our  eulogies  over  men,  as  Christians,  however 
prominent  or  public-spirited  as  citizens,  if  they  have 
never  given  evidence  of  subjection  to  the  Father  of 
spirits.  Happily  we  are  not  the  judge  of  men's  standing 
before  God;  but  we  may  make  ourselves  such,  and  rest 
favorable  judgments  on  very  slender  evidences. 


CONTENTS. 


[See  Appendix  for  Index  of  Authors  and  Texts.] 


CHILDHOOD  : 

PAGE 

God's  Love  of  Little  Children  Rev.  T.  Qasquoine 13 

A  Mother's  Sorrow, Rev.  A.  8.  Robertson 14 

Some  Reasons  for  Removal. ifey.   Varnum  Lincoln 15 

The  Child  Glorified J.  Sanderson,  D.D 17 

The  Missing  One Rev.  G.   Onne 18 

An  Infant's    Death    no  Real 

Loss J.  Sanderson,  D.D 20 

Early  Piety Rev.  J.  W.  McCree 21 

The  Lessons  of  God's  Rod. .  .Rev.  G.  D.  Macgregor 23 

The  Funeral  Train  at  Nain.  .Rev.  Gehler 24 

Unfulfilled  Hopes ^Vm.  Graham,  D.D 26 

The  Child  in  Glory Rev.  Thornley  Smith 28 

Death  on  a  Summer  day Rev.  W.  Forsyth 31 

The  Shunamite  and  Her  Son  John  Bruce,  D.D 33 

The  Child  and  the  Father's 

Cup Theo.  L.  Cuyler,  D.D 35 

Early  Death J.  R.  Macduff,  D.D 37 

The  Teaching  of    a  Child's 

Death " Wm.  M.  Taylor,  D.D.,  LL.D. . .  40 

A  Child's  True  Estimate Anonymous 43 

Home  Bereavements Henry  Ward  Beecher 47 

Infant  Salvation Rev.  Chas.  A.  Evans 50 

Piety  in  Childhood Rev.  Robert  Wye  Beits 57 


YOUTH  : 

Sunset  at  Noon Rev.  W.  Rodwell 72 

The  Sleeping  Damsel Rev.  F.  Wagstaff. 74 

One  Note  in  a  Burial  Hymn.i^ew.  Chas.  Jerdan 76 

Life  for  the  Dead James  llnmilton,  D.D 78 

[9] 


10  CIONTBNTS. 

PAGE 

The  Amusive  Waste  of  Life,  Wm.  M.  Paxton,  D.D 80 

Divine  Consolation J.  Oswald  Dykes,  D.D 82 

The  Mourner's  Best  News. .  .Rev.  Wm.  Morley  Punshon 85 

The  Believer  in  Life,  Death 

and  Eternity Rev.  Joseph  Haslegrave 89 

Dying  in  the  Lord Rev.  W,  D.  Horwood &7 

The  Faded  Flower Rev.  James Huglies 101 

Immortal  Life Rev.  James  Smith 115 

The  Christian's  Desire Rev.  Francis  Ellaby,  B.A 125 

Piety  in  Humble  Life Rev.  A.  E.  Lord 130 

The  Dying  Christian Rev.  R.  Gibson 142 

The  Funeral  at  the  Gate  of 

Nain Rev.   W.  D.  Horwood 154 

The  Death  of  the  Believer  in 

Jesus Rev.  James  Henry  Owither 160 

What WillYeDointheEnd?  Thomas  Binney,  D.D 168 


MIDDLE  AGE: 

The    Comforting   Announce- 
ment  William  Ormiston,  D.D.,  LL.D.  188 

Awaiting  Coronation William  Svrague,  D.D 190 

Passing  Through  the  Valley,  J.  R.  Macduff,  D.D 191 

Faithfulness  and  its  Reward,  Charles  Hodge,  D.D 193 

Crossing  the  River T.  De  Witt  Talmage,  D.D 195 

The  Solemnity  of  Death G.  F.  Deems,  D.D 196 

The   Compensations  of  Life 

and  Death Dean  A.  P.  Stanley,   D.D     198 

The  Rendezvous  of   Humani- 
ty   John  Gumming,  D.D 200 

Gratitude  for  Triumph Rev.  Win.  Jay 202 

Deliverance  from  the  Grave,  Canon  F.  W.  Farrar 204 

The  Match  of   the  Great  De- 
stroyer  Rev.  Archibald  G.  Brown 206 

No  Victory  without  a  ^2c\X\q .  Morgan  Dix,  D.D 208 

The  Place  of  Sacred  Deposit .  Rev.  Canon  H.  Melvill 210 

Christ's  Desire   to  have  His 

People  with  Him J.  McElroy,  D.D 212 

A  Precious  Death J.  H.  Howard,  D.D 215 

Christian  Consolations Rev.  Daniel  Moore 217 

Jacob's  Dving  Words Andrew  R.  Bonar.  D.D 220 

The  Finaf  Battle W.  R.  Williams,  D.D. ,  LL.D.  222 

Deliverance  from  the  Fear  of 

Death Rev.  Daniel  Moore 225 

The       Believer's       Farewell 

Words John  Hall,  D.D 227 

The  Death  Day  Better  than 

the  Birthday Rev.  G.  H.   Spurgeon 230 

A  Royal  Alarmist Rev.   B.  W.    Williams 233 

The  Happy  Mourners Alexander  Dickson,  D.D 238 


CONfJSNTf^.  11 

PAGE 

Human  ity's  Emblem William  Landels,  D.D 236 

Consumraale  Ha'ppiness Andreio  R.  Bonar,  D.D 241 

Preparation  for  the  Passage,  Alexander  Dickson,  D.D 245 

The  Pilgrim's  Faith  and  End  liev.  Daniel  Moore 249 


OLD  AGE: 

Faithfulness  Crowned Roswell  D.  Hitchcock,  D.D 253 

The  Heavenly  Hope Bet).  James  Parsons 254 

The  Glad  Announcement. . .  Gardiner  Spring,  D.D 256 

The  Moital  and  the  Immor- 
tal Companion Bev.  H.  F.  Burder 257 

The  Pivotal  Fact Thomas  Armitage,  D.D 258 

The  Death  of  a  Great  Man.  .Rev.  Thomas  J.  Cole 260 

The  Grave's  Conqueior Thomas  Guthrie,  D.D 262 

Thoughts  on  the  last  Battle,  Rev.  G.  H.  Spurgeon 263 

The  Ripe  Christian  Dying. .  .Rev.  G.  H.   Spurgeon 265 

The  Inevitable  Battle Rev.  U.  R.  Thomas 266 

The  Vital  Question John  Todd,  D.D 268 

Resurrection  Hope Rev.  Ganon  H.  Melvill. 270 

The  Future  Life Henry  M.  Scudder,  D.D 271 

The  Unavoidable  Journey. .  .Rev.  John  H.  Macdonna 274 

Tlie  Aged  Believer  in  Death,  David  Thomas,  D.D 276 

Death  and  the  Resurrection,  Rev.  Ganon  Hugh  Stowell 278 

The  Warfare  and  Victor}'-. .  .Rev.  George  Clayton 280 

Hope  for  the  Sleeping  Dead,  William  Landels,  D.D 283 

The  Death  oi  the  Old Rev.  Thomas  Binney 286 

The   Perishing  and  the   En- 
during  Rev.  Ganon  H.  P.  Liddon,  D.D.  290 

Asleep  in  Jesus Theodore  L.  Guyler,  D.D 294 

The  Gates  of  Death David  Thomas,  D.D 298 

Job's  Testimony  about  Him- 
self as  a  Believer .  Thomas  Guthrie,  D.D 303 

The  Day  of  the   Christian's 

Death . .  Rev.  George  S.  Ingrain 307 

Heaven  Warning  Earth T.  Raffles,  D.D 313 

The  Believer's  Confidence. . .  Rev.  Edward  Parsons 318 

Prayer  for  Wisdom  in  View 

of  Death Rev.  T.  Raffles,  D.D 323 

Holy  Ardor  after  a  Heavenly 

State Rev.  Gharles  Hyatt 331 


MISCELLANEOUS  : 

A  Philanthropist W.  J.  R.  Taylor,  D.D 341 

A  Theological  Professor Rev.  George^P.  Fisher 349 

A  Lawyer,  Editor  and  College 

Professor Francis  Wayland,  D.D 356 

A  Physician  (Death  by  Heart 

Disease) Rev.  Wesley  D.  Davis 365 


12  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Our  Trials John  Newton 373 

A  College  President,  Wilbur 

Fisk,  D.D Nathan  Bangs,  D  D 374 

A  Bishop,  liev.  E.  S.   Janes, 

D.D.,  LL.D Rei).  C.  H.  Foioler,  D.D.,  LL.J). . .  381 

A  TV  ise  aud   Failliful  Ruler 

(Assassinated)      President 

Lincoln John  McGliniock,  D.D.,  LL.  D.  386 

A  Wife,  Mary  C.    Foss,  wife 

of  Bishop  Foss Albert  8.  Hunt,  D.D 393 

A  Fireman  (killed  at  a  fire), 

B.  W.  Braidwood John  Gumming,  D.D 400 

A  Fisherman  (drowned  at  sea)i?«?;.  Albert  Bibby 406 

A  Mere  Professor Rev.  Win.8.Plumer,D.D.,LL.D,  410 

The  Sceptic Rev.  Jas.  Murray 419 

The  Blasphemer Rev.  Hugh  Hughes,  D.D 424 

The  Wicked  Man's  Life Rev.  C.  H  Spurgeon 430 

A    Good    Minister,    W.    T. 

Brantly Rev.  Geo.  E.  Rees 437 

A    Statesman,      Sir     Robert 

Peel Rev.  Alexander-  Fletcher,  D.D...  442 

A  Calamity  (ship  burned   at 

sea) Rev.    Cattley,  M.A  448 

The  Mysteries  of  Providence 

(Coal  mine  disaster) Rev.  T.  Binney 453 

Sudden  Death,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
P.    P.    Bliss  (Railway    acci- 
dent)  D.  L.  Moody 461 

President  of  the  United  States 

(assassinated), J. A.Garfield,  Wm.  M.  Taylor,  D.D 472 


MEMORIAL  RESOLUTIONS. 

1  On  the  death  of  two  members  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance.  481 

2  On  the  death  of  a  Bishop  and  College  President 482 

3  On  the  death  of  a  College  Professor 483 

4  On  the  death  of  a  Pastor 484 

5  On  the  death  of  a  Member  of  the  School  Board 485 

6  On  the  death  of  an  Editor 485 

7  On  the  death  of  a  Publisher 486 

8  On  the  death  of  a  Physician 487 

9  On  the  death  of  a  President  of  a  Board  of  Trustees 488 

10  On  the  death  of  a  Knio^ht  Templar 488 

11  On  the  death  of  a  Pasf-Master  of  a  Lodge 489 

12  On  the  death  of  a  Freemason 489 

13  On  the  death  of  a  Military  Officer 490 

14  On  the  death  of  a  Director  of  an  Insurance  Company 491 

15  On  the  death  of  a  Fireman 492 

16  On  the  death  of  a  Director  of  an  Athenseum 492 

17  On  the  death  of  a  Member  of  a  Literary  Society 493 

18  On  the  death  of  a  Student    493 


MEMORIAL    TRIBUTES, 


CHILDHOOD 


GOD'S  LOVE   OF  LITTLE   CHILDREN". 

KEY.    T.    GASQUOIKE. 
It  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven  that  one  of  these 
little  ones  sJwuld  perish. — Matt,  xviii:  14. 

f^  OD  loves  little  children  with  tenderest,  deepest, 
^^      sweetest  love. 

I.  It  is  a  love  of  utter  unselfishness.  It  springs  out 
of  the  eternal  fountains  of  loving-kindness.  Thej  can- 
not know  him,  trust  him  or  love  him  in  return. 

IL  God's  love  of  little  children  is  the  love  of  delight 
in  them.  His  delights  are  with  the  very  youngest  of 
them.     He  rejoices  in  the  life  of  little  children. 

III.  His  love  is  a  love  of  compassion  towards  them. 
If  all  the  promises  show  his  care  for  the  weak  and  the 
helpless  and  those  exposed  to  danger,  that  care  must  be 
as  sensitively  towards  little  children.  When  Christ  was 
upon   the  earth,   his  ways  with  children    were  full  of 

[13] 


14  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

tenderness.  When  his  disciples  were  disputing  who 
should  be  greatest,  he  took  a  child  and  set  him  in  the 
midst.  When  his  disciples  would  drive  away  mothers 
with  their  children,  he  took  them  in  His  arms  and 
blessed  them.  The  very  providences  of  God  which  be- 
gird the  lives  of  children  show  his  tender  compassion 
toward  them. 

IV.  God's  love  is  the  love  of  trust  in  the  almost  infi- 
nite capacities  of  childreu.  That  slightly  knowing, 
fully  trusting,  fitfully  loving  little  child  is  to  become 
the  intelligent  companion  of  angels  and  adoring  sprits 
before  the  throne  of  God. 

Surely  it  is  **not  the  will  of  your  father,  &c." 


A  MOTHER'S  SORROW. 

EEV.  A.  S.  EOBERTSOif. 
RacJiel  weeping  for  her  children. — Matt,  ii:  18. 
npHIS  mother  had  been  dead  for  centuries ;  but 
such  a  dreadful  slaughter  had  been  made  of  the 
children  around  her  grave  that  she  is  represented  as 
moved  to  tears  in  her  tomb  and  is  comfortless  in  her  sor- 
row. Sin  always  causes  tears,  but  the  consideration  of 
what  Christ  has  done  should  always  bring  comfort. 
^'They  died  for  Adam  sinned.  They  live  for  Jesus 
died."     Coi^"sir»ER : 

I.  The  immediate  cause  of  their  being  cut  off— Christ's 
Incarnation — Matt,   ii  :  1-16. 

II.  The  only  cause  of  their  salvation— Redemption  by 
Christ.     Rev.  xiv  :  4. 

HI.  They  were  first  fruits  to  God  and  the  lamb— not 
John  Baptist,  nor  Stephen — but  the  babes  of  Bethle- 
hem.    Rev.  xiv  :  4. 


CHILDHOOD.  15 

IV.  These  are  now  lambs  of  the  upper  fold.  In  their 
mouth  was  no  guilt.  They  were  only  babes  two  years  and 
under — God's  celestial  family  is  increased  by  Herod's 
self-defeating  massacre.  If  they  were  counted  worthy  to 
suffer  shame  for  Jesus'  name,  they  surely  inherit  the 
first  fruit  of  the  promised  blessedness. 

V.  We  should  keep  these  babes  in  remembrance.  If 
the  woman  who  poured  ointment  on  Jesus'  head  has 
her  memorial,  surely  babes  whose  lives  were  first  sac- 
rificed for  Christ  should  not  be  forgotten. 

VI.  How  encouraging  the  thought,  that  none  shall 
be  forgotten,  or  be  unrewarded  by  God  who  suffer  for 
Christ,  and  how  anxious  should  we  be,  to  become  as  little 
children. 

VII.  How  comforting  to  the  bereaved  are  these  truths. 
Weeping  parents  should  rejoice  that  their  children  are 
without  fault  before  the  throne.  In  the  innermost 
ranks.     "Now,  are  they  holy." 

VIII.  Regard  them  as  "first  fruits"  of  a  glorious 
harvest.  He  who  took  children  in  his  arms  on  earth, 
takes  them  still  into  his  heavenly  keeping  for  eternal 
blessing — now  jewels  on  his  bosom.    This  is  the  comfort. 

IX.  He  is  willing  to  take  every  penitent  and  present 
him  •-faultless,"  where  all  shall  be  one  family  in  Him. 
There  shall  be  no  sorrow  there. 


SOME  SEASONS  FOE  EEMOVAL. 

REV.  VARiq^UM  LINCOLN. 

1  shall  go  to  Mm,  hut  lie  shall  not  return  to  me. — 2  Sam.  xii:  23. 

TT/^HY  take  away  the  little  one  in  the  freshness  of 

**    early  dawn,  leaving  the  home  desolate,  tbc  heart 

sad,  and  tiie  sweetest  hopes  forever  withered  ?     AVe  may 

not  be  able  fully  to  answer  ;  but  there  are  consiclcriiiions 


16  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

which   mitigate   in   some   measure   the    overshadowing 
gloom. 

I.  The  length  of  a  human  life  is  not  always  the 
measure  of  its  usefulness.  A  long  life  is  not  necessarily 
a  useful  one.  It  may  be  like  some  long  rivers  whose 
waters  are  slow  and  sluggish,  whose  banks  are  low  and 
marshy,  v/here  the  crocodile  and  the  serpent  find  a  home. 
Other  lives  are  short  and  diminutive  like  some  mountain 
streams,  and  yet  what  a  work  they  accomplish— what  de- 
light a  child  brings  to  a  home,  what  source  of  pleasure 
to  parents  and  others.     It  gladdens,  refines,  elevates. 

II.  A  child's  work  on  earth  is  not  finished  when  it 
dies.  Its  buried  body  draws  the  thoughts  often  to  the 
grave.  Its  soul  gone  to  eternity  attracts  thoughts  and 
affections  thitherward. 

It  opens  the  fountains  of  sympathy  in  the  heart  to- 
wards other  bereaved  ones.  Its  death  becomes  a  teacher 
of  spiritual  things  and  a  magnet  towards  a  saving  power. 

III.  It  is  removed  from  the  many  troubles  and  temp- 
tations incident  to  this  mortal  life.  Disease,  accident, 
misfortune,  poverty,  neglect,  what  sources  too  of 
moral  evil,  threatening  to  deluge  the  young  mind  and 
heart.  These  evils  are  more  fearful  than  death.  It  is 
now  safe  from  all  moral  harm. 

IV.  God  has  called  it  to  a  higher  and  nobler  mission 
than  any  on  earth.  Who  can  tell  what  the  spirit  of  a 
beloved  child  may  be  given  by  God  to  do  in  heaven  ? 
Something  better,  at  any  rate,  than  he  could  have  per- 
formed here. 

V.  The  assurance  that  godly  parents  shall  be  reunited 
to  their  children.  '•  I  shall  go,"  etc.  This  is  clearly  taught. 
God  is  able  thus  to  comfort  us  in  all  tribulations. 


CHILDHOOD.  17 

THE  CHILD  GLORIFIED. 

J.  SAls'DERSOJS',  D.D. 
And  her  child  was  caught  up  to  God  and  unto  his  throne.— Rev. 

xii:  5. 
TT/'HATEVER  the  primary  meaning  of  these  words 
'  ^  may  be,  they  are  especially  true  when  spoken  of 
one  who  has  died  in  infancy.  All  such  are  not  lost  but 
gone  before.  They  are  the  ""lambs  of  the  upper  fold/' 
whom  the  good  Shepherd  has  gathered  from  the  hills 
and  vales  of  a  land  smitten  by  sin  and  swept  by  wintry 
blasts. 

I.  The  departure  of  each  of  these  is  arranged  and 
superintended  by  God.  He  has  a  fayor  towards  them, 
and  therefore  watches  over  them,  provides  for  their 
welfare,  removes  them  when  he  will  and  sends  the  angel 
of  death  to  call  the  spirit  home. 

II.  They  are  "  caught  up  "  in  mercy  to  them.  —Their 
natures  are  sinful  and  might  develope  into  awful  iniqui- 
ty. Their  temptations  might  be  many  and  strong,  and 
to  these  they  might  yield.  Their  disappointments 
might  crush  their  hopes  and  shade  all  their  prospects. 
Their  sorrows  might  come  like '*' the  clouds  returning 
after  the  rain."  But  God  has  mercifully  spared  them 
all  these. 

III.  Children  are  "  caught  up"  in  mercy  and  love  to 
parents.  Beautiful  and  cherub-like  as  infants  are, 
wlio  can  say  to  what  a  child  may  grow  ?  Cain  and 
Absalom  and  Judas  were  not  less  attractive  and  lovable 
than  other  children  are,  but  what  a  grief  they  must  have 
been  in  after  years  to  their  parents.  The  possibilities  of 
an  evil  nature  are  fearful  to  contemplate. 

IV.  Children. are  '^caught  up"  to  have  God's  place 
vacated  in  the  parent's  heart.  This  place  is  often  filled 
by  a  child  or  some  earthly  object.     Children  are   ofteu 


18  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

idolized.  It  is  right  to  love^butnotto  idolize — God  will 
not  permit  it.  He  is  a  jealous  God  and  must  have  his 
own  place  in  the  heart. 

V.  Children  are  **  caught  up"  to  be  forever  at  home 
with  God.  Here  they  are  away  from  the  Home  of  the 
Soul — from  their  Father's  house.  God  wants  them  with 
Himself— to  render  them  unspeakably  happy  and  have  a 
seat  with  His  only-begotten  Son  on  the  throne. — ^'  To 
God  mid  to  Ids  throne.^'' 

Lessons. 

Think  not  of  your  child  as  dead,  but  living — not  as  a 
withered  bud  but  as  a  blooming  flower  in  Paradise. 

Be  submissive  to  the  Divine  will.  God  gave.  He 
took.     He   will  restore.     '^  He  doeth  all  things  well." 

Anticipate  reunion  in  heaven. 

God  has  a  dwelling-place  for  all  his  children. 

Look  to  him  for  comfort.  His  promise  is  "I  will  be 
with  thee  in  trouble." 


THE  MISSING  ONE. 

EEV.  G.  ORME. 
And  one  is  not. — Gen.  xHi :  13. 
^T^HESE  words  occur  in  the  story  of  a  family  life  as  it 
is  told  by  some  member  of  the  family  to  another 
who  has  long  been  an  absentee.  It  might  be  repeated  in 
many  a  home,  and  is  true  of  many  a  family.  ''One  is 
not."  It  may  be  the  father  or  mother,  brother  or  sister, 
or  the  dear  little  one.  Death  has  divided  them.  The 
face  will  be  seen  no  more.  This  renders  the  absence  so 
saddening. 

I.  How  frail  and  short-lived  are  all  our  social  pos? 
sessions  and  delights.  The  families  who  may  meet  at 
any  time  in  the  fullest  numbers  and  in  the  greatest 
gladness  may  do  so  tio  more,     One,  probably  the  leq-st 


CHILDHOOD.  19 

likely,  may  bo  missing.  How  dearly  we  sliould  prize 
our  domestic  relations,  devoutly  and  gratefully  cultivate 
them,  and  yet  not  rest  in  them,  nor  let  them  keep  us 
back  from  God.  How  affectionate  should  be  our  de- 
meanor, how  pure  and  sweet  and  beautiful  and  happy 
our  lives. 

II.  The  member  who  ''  is  not,"  may  have  his  present 
stats  far  in  advance  of  his  former  one.  It  was  so  with 
Joseph,  to  whom  allusion  is  here  made  as  the  missing 
one.  And  although  our  missing  one  may  not  be  per- 
mitted to  hold  intercourse  with  us  or  minister  to  us,  yet 
in  his  exalted  position  we  may  not  doubt  that  he  still 
remembers,  is  in  sympathy  with  us,  and  may  hear 
through  our  elder  Brother  of  us,  or  through  those  blessed 
ones  wiio  minister  to  those  who  are  heirs  of  salvation. 

III.  The  prospect  of  a  full  and  an  abiding  reunion. 
Joseph  had  only  been  taken  from  them  for  a  time,  to 
minister  to  them  in  their  time  of  necessity,  to  prepare 
the  way  for  reunion,  and  to  receive  them  to  himself  in 
happier  circumstances.  So  our  departed  one  may  not 
be  ''lost,  but  gone  before,"  may  be  the  means  of  drawing 
the  affections  of  those  left  behind  heavenward  and  thus 
preparing  them,  through  Christ,  to  leave  this  the  famine 
stricken  world,  for  the  land  of  eternal  plenty,  and  to 
welcome  them  there  to  everlasting  habitations.  As  new 
arrivals  take  place,  how  the  joy  of  each  and  of  all  in- 
creases. How  complete  the  joy  when  a  whole  family  is 
found  there. 

But  if  any  be  absent,  and  as  we  count  up  the  num- 
ber we  have  to  say,  *'  And  one  is  not,"  what  a  drawback 
to  the  joy  of  all. 

Let  us  seek  so  to  live,  that  we  shall  appear  '*  a  whole 
i^mWj  in  heaven," 


20  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES, 


AN  INFANT'S  DEATH  NO  REAL  LOSS. 

J.  SANDERSON-,  D.D. 
To  what  purpose  is  this  waste  ? — Matt,  xxvi  :  8. 
'^PHE  unfeeling  question  of  those  who  had  no  sym- 
pathy with  Christ  or  her  who  had  poured  her 
precious  ointment  on  His  head  and  feet.  A  similar 
question  may  often  start  to  the  lip  of  those  who  see  their 
child  laid  in  the  coffin  on  whom  they  have  lavished  the 
wealth  of  their  affection  and  care.  Jesus  answers  the 
question  of  both  parties,  by  assuring,  there  is  no  waste, 
if  their  poured-out  ointment  is  expressive  of  their  de- 
votion and  affection  for  him.  Although  we  cannot  see 
all  the  designs  of  God  in  any  of  his  dispensations  we  can 
see  enougn  to  satisfy  us  that  "  God  does  all  things  well." 
There  is  no  waste  in  a  child's  death,  so  far  as  God's  pur- 
pose is  concerned,  for  : 

L  The  child  has  lived  to  be  a  demonstration  of  God's 
fashioning  life  giving  and  saving  power.  No  waste, 
though  one-third  of  the  human  race  die  in  infancy. 

IL  No  waste,  so  far  as  the  child's  interests  are 
concerned.  It  has  lived  to  be  one  in  the  "Kingdom," 
and  to  b^,  blessed  by  Christ,  to  have  angels  watching  it 
as  an  "  heir  of  salvation,"  to  have  the  pleasure  of  exist- 
ence in  time,  to  have  the  glorious  possibilities  of  eternity, 
to  have  a  body  made  like  Christy's,  and  a  seat  with  Clirist 
on  his  throne.     No  waste. 

IIL  The  child  has  lived  for  its  parents'  sake ;  to  call 
forth  their  h)ve,  to  exercise  their  graces,  bind  them 
closer  in  affection  to  each  other,  draw  out  their  affec- 
tions more  fully  to  the  Giver,  make  them  more  devout 
and  earnest  at  the  mercy  seat,  as  they  feel  their  increased 
responsibility,  and  to  make  them  feel  more  intensely 
their  stewardship.     No  waste. 


OmtDttOOD.  21 

IV.  The  child's  death  will  be  no  waste,  if  hearts  be 

SOFTENED  BY  THE  AFFLICTION",  reminded  of  God's  cove- 
nant, of  the  sin  tliat  has  caused  death,  and  of  the  uncer- 
tainty of  life.  If  taught  not  to  make  any  earthly  thing  a 
portion  or  an  idol,  if  affection  is  directed  to  the  other 
world  where  the  soul  is,  Christ  is,  and  where  G-od  i? 
gathering  his  own  one  by  one.  If  parents  are  more  im- 
pressed that  j-epentance  and  faith  are  required  of  th-^m 
if  they  would  join  their  child  again,  and  hear  her  speak 
to  them  in  the  other  world.  Sin  makes  the  impassable 
gulf. 

Exercise  unfaltering  trust  in  God.  Thank  him  for 
the  loan  of  the  child,  and  that  through  Christ  you  can 
rejoin  it  in  that  land  where  parting  shall  be  no  more. 


EARLY    PIETY. 

EEV.    J.    W.    McCREE. 
Thou  art  my  trust  from  my  youth. — Ps.  Ixxi :  5. 
A    RECKLESS  child  is  never   a   happy  child.      He 
should  be  pleasant,  docile,  open-hearted,  courteous, 
humble,  willing  to  do  the  least  things  patiently,  wait- 
ing for  the   time  when  he  shall,  by  Divine  grace,   do 
the  greatest  things.     That  the  young  may  be  brought 
to  trust  in  Christ,  they  should  be  treated  by  the  aged 
with  great  kindness  and  love.     It  may  be  fitting  on  this 
solemn  occasion  to  say  : 

I.  They  should  patiently  answer  their  inquiries. 
Think  what  a  world  of  wonders  this  is  to  the  juvenile 
mind.  How  full  the  Bible  is — teeming  with  things 
unknown  to  the  youthful  soul.  Try  to  satisfy  itseagt'r, 
palpitating  questions.  Everyone  who  will  do  thi>  in  ;i 
wise,  genial  spirit  will  have  a  rich  reward. 

II.  They  should  not  frown  upon  the  laughter  of  the 


53  MEMORIAL   Tumurm. 

young.  Why  sliould  not  the  young  laugh,  not  too 
much,  nor  too  long,  nor  out  of  place,  but  when  it  is 
timely  and  innocent,  then  should  the  old  bear  with  it 
and  share  in  it. 

III.  They  should  sympathize  with  the  struggles  of 
the  young.  Some  young  people  have  a  hard  life.  God- 
less parents,  homes  without  flowers,  music,  beauty  or 
love.  Fathers  never  kiss  them,  mothers  never  pray  for 
them.  Cold  walks  to  work,  low  wages,  tedious  hours, 
blustering  nights.  Who  would  not  pity,  help  and  love 
them  and  show  them  all  possible  kindness  ? 

IV.  They  should  rejoice  when  they  rejoice.  If  they 
are  merry,  singing  for  jo}^,  garlanding  themselves  with 
roses  on  birthdays,  they  should  not  throw  "  wet  blan- 
kets ''  over  their  glossy  heads  and  smiling  faces.  While 
they  love  and  wed  and  laugh,  the  aged  should  not  begin 
to  prophesy  evil  concerning  them,  but  turn  the  water 
into  wine,  at  the  marriage,  bless  the  feast  and  be  merry, 
and  show  that  God's  people  are  the  gentlest,  the  sweetest 
and  the  best. 

V.  The  aged  should  seek  the  salvation  of  the  young. 
No  parent  should  rest  until  all  his  family  are  converted 
and  in  the  church  of  Christ — until  even  the  very  lambs 
of  the  flock  are  '^safe  in  the  arms  of  Jesus" — His  for- 
evermore. 

Some  of  the  young  never  grow  old.  Their  voices 
ring  no  more  out  of  cots.  Their  feet  patter  no  more 
to  the  door.  Their  little  graves  rise  amid  green  grass 
and  the  heavens  shelter  their  spirits.  Wherefore, 
comfort  yourselves.  There  is  comfort  for  us  this  day, 
when  the  departed  could  say,  ''Thou  art  my  trust  from 
my  youth."  Then  death  is  the  gate  of  life,  earth  leads 
to  heaven,  where  the  young  are  crowned  with  knowl- 
edge and  joy,  where  all  are  immortal  and  glorious  and 
have  pleasures  forevermore. 


VmLDBOOt). 


tHE   LESSONS  OF  GOD'S  KOD. 

BY  REV.    G.    D.    MAGREGOR. 
Kear  ye  tJie  rod  and  iclio  hath  appointed  it. — ^Micah  vi:  9. 
r^  OD  employs  many  instruments  for  the  instruction 
^^     of  His  children.     Scripture,  daily  blessings,  Provi- 
dence, a  remarkable  Providence  as  that  of  the  sudden 
death  of  a  young  man. 

I.  This  solemnly  speaks  to  us  of  the  brevity  and  uncer- 
tainty of  human  life.  This  lesson  is  often  sounded  in 
our  ears  and  addressed  to  our  hearts.  But  this 
neglected  truth  is  now  loudly  proclaimed,  not  to  rob 
the  young  of  the  sunshine  and  joy  natural  to  young 
hearts,  but  to  urge  them  so  to  live  that  to  them  death 
shall  have  no  terror  and  no  sting. 

II.  This  speaks  to  us  of  the  disappointment  of  the 
brightest  hopes.  This  has  often  been  the  theme  of  the 
moralist,  the  poet  and  the  preacher.  Now  it  has  had  an 
impressive  illustration.  Hopes  are  all  quenched  in 
death  and  buried  in  an  early  grave.  Have  you  a  hope 
which  entereth  into  that  within  the  veil  ?  If  death 
comes  then  you  will  have  a  prize  of  infinite  worth  sub- 
stituted for  one  only  of  finite  value.  No  merely  earthly 
hope  can  defy  death  or  bloom  beyond  the  grave.  Let 
Christ  be  the  trust  and  stay  and  He  will  endow  with  a 
hope  full  of  immortality. 

III.  This  event  speaks  to  us  of  the  mystery  of  Prov- 
idence. A  mystery  in  such  a  death  at  such  a  time. 
What  power  for  good  possessed  !  What  service  might 
not  such  a  mind  have  rendered  to  God  and  man  !  A 
promising  life  abruptly  ended,  while  thousands  of  the 
weak  and  worthless  are  permitted  to  live  in  uselessness 
and  in  vice.  But  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  will  do 
right,  even  though  the  rightness  of  this  procedure  does 


34  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

not  reveal  itself  at  once  to  our  feeble  reason.  We  see 
but  a  small  portion  of  God's  complicated  plan — the  mer- 
est outlines  of  His  picture.  In  heaven  the  hopes  of 
the  believer  will  find  a  richer  fruition  and  his  powers  a 
nobler  service  than  earth  could  afford. 

IV.  This  event  speaks  to  us  of  the  worth  of  a  Chris- 
tian faith.  ''  We  sorrow  not  as  those  who  have  no 
hope."  The  foundation  of  this  hope  is  the  knowledge 
that  the  departed  lived  and  died  trusting  in  Him  who 
is  the  ^'Resurrection  and  the  Life."  Merely  to  remem- 
ber that  he  had  many  amiable  qualities,  etc.,  would  not 
be  enough,  but  the  confidence  that  he  was  an  humble 
disciple  of  Christ  cheers  and  sustains  and  casts  a  bright- 
ness over  the  grave.  Learn  the  transcendent  worth  of  a 
Christian  faith.  It  supports  the  dying,  comforts  the 
bereaved  and  gives  a  certainty  of  a  blessed  reunion. 
Delay  not  to  exercise  faith,  but  be  ye  also  ready. 


THE  FUNERAL  TRA.IJS"  AT  NAIN. 

REV.    GEBLER. 

Luke  vii :  11-17. 

T^HE  spring  season  of  the  year,  full  of  renewal  of  life, 

beautifully  accords  with  this  incident  in  to-day's 

Gospel.     Two  processions  of  human  beings  meet  each 

other  at  the  gates  of  Nain  ;  out  of  the  village  comes  the 

train  of  death,  a  corpse  in  the  van ;  the  procession  of 

life  approaches  toward  it ;  in  the  van  is  the  Prince  of 

Life,  Jesus  Christ;   the  latter  does  not  give  way,  but 

conquers  the  former.     The  funeral  procession  is  changed 

into  a   mass  of   happy   persons,  and  with  the  cheerful 

followers  of  the  Lord  from  a  group  of  blessed  worshippers. 

I.  The  funeral  train  which  is  met  by  Christ. 


CtitLDHOOi).  S.^ 

II.  The  manner  in  which  the  Lord  approaches  this 
train. 

III.  The  result. 

I.  The  procession  comes  from  Nain,  which  means 
*^  pleasantness."  This  entire  beautiful  earth  is  only  a 
world  of  death.  The  corpse  is  that  of  a  young  man — no 
human  energy  can  defy  death.  The  motJieris  a  widow — 
Death  is  a  cruel  prince.  The  accompanying  people  can 
do  nothing  but  sympathize.  This  funeral  train  is  a  pic- 
ture of  devastation  and  sorrow,  and  the  impotence  of  man 
in  opposition  to  this  power  of  destruction — where  Christ 
has  not  yet  come,  e.  g.,  heathen  nations.  And  even  now, 
what  deep  immorality  and  fear  of  death  where  Jesus  is 
not  known  and  trusted  !  Man  without  Christ  is  spirit- 
ually dead. 

II.  The  Lord  beheld  and  pitied  the  widowed  mother. 
Thus  He  looks  yet  on  every  one  whom  the  stroke  of 
death  casts  into  deep  sorrow.  He  speaks  to  her.  Thus 
He  comforts  us  likewise  in  His  word.  He  touches  the 
bier,  He  does  something.  And  thus,  in  our  day,  we 
become  acquainted  with  circumstances  which  take  place 
against  all  human  expectation,  and  which  are  proofs  of 
the  continuous  power  of  the  living  Christ. 

III.  ^*  He  that  was  dead  sat  up  and  began  to  speak." 
Although  He  does  not  show  His  power  in  this  wise  any 
more,  yet  He  shows  it  in  different  ways. 

{a)  Christ  stops  deaths — this  is  shown  in  the  history 
of  nations  which  accept  Christ  (e.  g.,  cannibalism  in 
Sandwich  Islands). 

{h)  He  awakens  us  from  spiritual  death. 

(c)  He  helps  us  to  overcome  the  terrors  and  agony  of 
death. 

{d)  He  will  raise  up  all  the  dead  at  the  last  day. 

'*And  he  delivered  him  to  his  mother."  Many  a 
spiritually  dead  lost  son  has  Christ  restored  to  his  parents 

a 


%  MEMORTAL     TRIBUTEf^. 

(e.  g.,  Augustine  and  Monica).     He  will  re-unite  those 
separated  by  bodily  death. 

Verse  16.  Mourners  and  despairing  souls  are 
snatched  out  from  depths  of  grief  and  despondency,  and 
caused  to  praise  God. 

COXCLUSIOX. 

If  we  have  Christ  in  us,  we  can  bring  consolation  to 
them  whom  death  has  deprived  of  loved  ones,  and  meet 
our  own  death  with  composure.  May  the  life  of  Christ 
become  daily  stronger  in  us. 


UNFULFILLED     HOPES. 

WILLIAM  GRAHAM,  D.D. 
1  pray  t?iee  let  me  go  over  and  see  the  good  land  that  is  beyond 

Jordan Thou  shalt  not  go  over  this  Joi'dan. — Deut. 

iii :  25,  27. 

npHERE  are  many  things  in  a  man's  life  which  he 
^  desires,  but  usually  there  is  some  one  thing  which 
is  the  supreme  good  after  which  ho  longs.  It  was 
so  with  Moses.  And  yet  thi^  is  the  one  thing  which 
God  will  not  grant.     Let  us  inquire  : 

I.  What  God  refuses  to  grant.  Going  over  Jordan 
was,  io  would  seem,  the  only  request  God  refused  to 
Moses.  This  refusal  was  the  last  trial  of  his  meek  soul, 
and  he  came  out  of  it  meeker  than  he  had  been  before. 
Some  one's  heart  is  set  upon  ambition.  But  his  Water- 
loo comes,  he  is  dethroned  forever,  and  another  takes  his 
place.  Some  one  has  a  dear  home,  idols  are  there,  we  do 
not  know  how  much  we  loved  until  there  is  tlie  vision  of 
a  face  darkened  under  the  coffin-lid — Oh  !  The  cry  that 
went  forth  ere  tliat  face  paled  in  death.  "  Let  the  dear 
one  live."  There  are  many  Jordans  we  i)ray  God  to 
cross,  but  we  arc  kept  back — hidden  liopes  blighted, 
secret  struggles  ending  in  defeat.     Thus  also  in  spirit- 


I' Hi  LA)  no  ou.  St 

ual  atttimmeiit — some  lofty  emineuce  lias  been  aimed 
at,  but  some  sin  has  clogged  our  feet.  Some  tempta- 
tion yielded  to  has  clipt  the  wings  of  jirayer  and  faith, 
and  we  have  failed.  But  we  are  sometimes  never  greater 
than  in  the  hour  of  our  defeat — great  in  humility,  in 
acquiescence  with  God's  will — in  faith.  Stephen,  Paul, 
John,  Luther,  Christ,  examples. 

11.  Why  did  God  refuse  to  grant  the  prayer  ? 

1.  Because  of  sin  in  the  case  of  Moses.  And  because 
of  sin  in  the  death  of  infants — that  sin  not  their  own, 
but  of  those  to  whom  they  are  related.  There  are 
other  mysteries  connected  with  such  a  death  which  God's 
hand  only  can  unravel. 

2.  Because  designed  to  benefit  Moses  thereby.  Moses 
needed  this  last  stroke  of  God's  chisel  to  clear  away  his 
last  infirmity.  He  had  to  die  completely  to  self,  and 
this  refusal  accomplished  this.  A  similar  lesson  may 
be  taught  by  this  death. 

3.  Because  this  refusal  lifted  him  to  a  nobler  eleva- 
tion of  character,  more  unselfish,  more  divine.  Abra- 
ham was  thus  elevated  when  he  did  not  withhold  his 
son.  David,  when  after  Absalom's  death,  he  cried,  ^^  Let 
my  soul  live  and  I  shall  praise  thee."  Paul,  when  his 
prayer  was  refused  and  grace  given  him  to  bear  the 
thorn.  Christ's  last  act  in  obedience  was  when  He  cried: 
^'Not  my  will  but  thine  be  done." 

4.  Because  it  had  given  Moses  an  opportunity  such 
as  he  had  not  before,  of  honoring  God,  in  the  midst  of 
disappointment  before  all.  He  showed  that  it  was  easy 
— it  was  gladness  to  obey  the  last  command  of  all — 
to  go  up  to  the  Mount  and  die. 

Ill  Because  of  refusal,  God  grants  the  more.  The 
things  granted  were  far  better  than  all  lie  witliheld. 

1.  'J'here  was  a  larger  outpouring  of  grace  into  tlie 
heart  of  Moses.     Grace  of  forgiveness,  of  restored  joy, 


28  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

of  salvation,  of  broken  bones  rejoicing,  of  fresh  com 
munion.     God  kept  his  best  wine  for  Moses  until  now. 

2.  There  was  the  speedier  crossing  of  the  Jordan  of 
death  into  the  life  everlasting.  The  goodly  land  of 
Lebanon  was  as  nothing  to  the  heavenly,  and  to  the  glory 
of  God  which  he  would  now  see. 

3.  He  did  cross  the  Jordan  and  stood  with  Christ 
on  the  mount  of  transfiguration  1600  years  after.  He 
stood  there  in  glory  then,  and  talked  with  God's  own 
Son.  God  thus  gave  him  an  answer  exceeding  abun- 
dantly above  all  he  asked  or  thought. 

Let  us  be  patient  in  affliction. 

**  He  is  not  dead — the  child  of  your  affection — 
But  gone  unto  that  school, 

Where  he  no  longer  needs  your  poor  protection, 
And  Christ  himself  shall  rule." 

Godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance.  The  time  comes 
when  we  must  all  cross  this  Jordan.  Let  us  live  upon 
the  Mount  and  grow  familiar  with  the  land  toward 
which  we  are  going.  Christ  is  on  both  sides  of  Jordan. 
Get  Him  in  you,  with  you,  and  you  are  safe. 


THE  CHILD  IN  GLORY. 

REV.   THORNLET    SMITH. 

Neither  can  tliey  die  any  more ;  for  they  are  equal  unto  the 
angels  ;  and  are  the  children  of  Ood,  being  the  children  of  the  resur- 
rection.— Luke  xx:  36. 

npHESE  are  remarkable  words.  The  present  condition 
of  every  human  being  is  a  very  humiliating  one, 
but  it  is  only  for  a  little  while  that  any  of  the  children 
of  men  can  dwell  in  these  tabei-nacles  of  flesh  and  this 
vale  of  tears.     This  condition  shall  soon  be  exchanged 


CHILDHOOD.  29 

by  the  saved  for  a  better.  A  little  lower  than  the  augels 
now,  each  of  the  children  of  God  shall  then  be  equal 
with  the  angels  and  the  angel's  heaven  shall  be  theirs  for 
ever.  And  while  this  is  true  of  all  the  good  it  is  equally 
true  of  the  little  ones  whom  God  calls  to  the  better 
world.     They  too  ^^  shall  be  equal  unto  the  angels." 

I.  Equal  unto  them  in  holiness.  Look  at  the  angels 
as  they  stand  before  the  throne,  as  they  minister  to  the 
saints,  as  they  bear  the  spirits  of  the  redeemed  into  the 
presence  of  their  Lord  !  How  radianc  they  are  !  How 
fair  !  How  beautiful  !  Their  robes  are  robes  of  dazzling 
light  and  upon  them  is  neither  stain  nor  speck.  And 
yet  the  redeemed,  even  the  little  ones  of  the  flock  of 
Jesus,  are  equal  to  them — yea,  they  shall  shine  in  brighter 
lustre  and  be  conspicuous  among  the  cherubs,  who  shall 
rejoice  in  the  companionship  of  these  young  immortals 
and  recognize  them  as  friends. 

IL  Equal  unto  them  in  intelligence.  However  wise 
angels  of  God  may  be,  and  however  deep  and  profound 
their  knowledge  of  God  and  of  his  works  and  ways  may 
be,  yet  even  infants  of  humanity  shall  become  equal  un- 
to them.  What  discoveries  they  shall  make,  what  mys- 
teries they  shall  solve  and  what  glories  will  burst  upon 
their  sight  when  they  enter  the  spirit- world.  Taey  may 
not  indeed  immediately  and  at  once  be  equal  to  the  an- 
gels, but  they  shall  soar  into  their  domain,  stand  on  their 
platform,  take  a  place  by  their  side,  eventually  out-soar 
the  flight  of  the  first-born  seraph  and  stand  nearer  to  the 
throne  than  Gabriel  himself.  They  will  know,  as  angels 
cannot  know,  practically  and  experimentally  the  mys- 
teries of  redeeming  love. 

ni.  Equal  unto  them  in  happiness  and  joy.  Angels 
are  happy  because  they  are  holy  and  therefore  enjoy  the 
fi^Iicity  of  immediate  fellowship  with  God.  But  every 
child  '"caught  up  to  God  and  to  histhronu.''  will  be  holy 


30  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

and  will  join  in  the  songs  of  the  harpers  before  the 
throne,  only  in  the  chorus  of  which  angels  can  unite. 
No  seraph  can  be  more  Joyous  than  the  ransomed  spirit 
of  a  child. 

IV.  Eq^ual  unto  them  in  immortality.  ''Neither  can 
they  die  any  more."  Angels  never  die.  Their  nature  is 
incorruptible,  and  they  are  as  vigorous  and  strong  to-day 
as  when  first  they  came  from  the  Creator's  hands.  And 
paralleled  with  angels  will  be  glorified  children. 
Immortality  is  stamped  upon  their  soul — and  the  body 
resurrected  and  made  like  Christ's,  will  equal  the  exis- 
tence of  angels.  Conscious  personal  existence  for  ever 
with  the  Lord  is  the  privilege  of  every  infant  caught  up 
to  glory. 

What  lessons  these  thoughts  suggest.  They  speak  to 
us  : 

1.  Of  our  dignity.  However  sinful,  weak,  dying 
man  now  is,  even  the  babes  of  the  household  shall  one 
day  be  equal  unto  angels — the  nobility  of  heaven. 

2.  Of  our  Jiopes.  Our  privilege  is  ever  to  be  looking 
upward — however  sorrowful  now,  anticipate  the  blessed- 
ness awaiting  those,  even  babes,  who  enter  the  city  of  the 
skies. 

3.  Of  our  business — to  become  like  little  children,  to 
be  saved  like  them  through  grace,  for  only  then  can  any 
of  us  become  equal  unto  the  angels  that  stand  in  the 
presence  of  the  King. 


Those  laughing  eyes  of  thine  fair  child 

God  never  wished  to  weep; 
Ere  smiles  had  tied,  the  shadows  fell 

Pf  death's  long,  silent  sleep. 


OHILDEOOD.  31 


DEATH   ON  A   SUMMER  DAY. 

REV.  W.  FORSYTH. 

He  sat  on  her  kness  till  noon  and  then  died. — 2  Kings  iv:  26, 

^J^HERE  arc  times  when  many  days  of  sunshine  and 
joy  succeed  each  other,  and  others  when  in  a  single 
day  there  seems  concentrated  the  joy  or  sorrow  of  a  year. 
This  occurred  to  the  family  at  Shunem.  A  child  had 
been  given  when  they  were  hopeless  of  offspring.  He 
was  the  mother's  joy  and  pride,  had  taken  away  her 
reproach.  His  fellowship  washer  delight  and  his  future 
the  dearest  hope  of  her  life.  He  grew  in  beauty  by  her 
side  and  filled  her  house  with  glee,  and  on  a  summer 
day  when  all  was  life  and  gladness  in  the  harvest  field 
he  visited  his  father  among  the  reapers.  How  happy 
that  father  as  he  walked  hand  in  hand  with  his  boy 
amid  the  yellow  corn,  the  innermost  thought  of  his  heart 
being,  *'May  the  God  of  Jacob  bless  the  lad."  There 
and  then  death  met  him,  when  the  sun  was  high  and 
hot,  the  lad  suddenly  cried.  My  head.'"     Learn  : 

I.  Sorrow  may  come  at  the  most  unlikely  time.  Tliere 
may  be  darkness  at  noon.  Thunder  out  of  a  clear  sky. 
The  happiest  home  darkened  suddenly  by  sorrow  and  the 
shadow  of  death. 

II.  Sorrow  may  spring  from  the  most  unlikely  source. 
From  a  fountain  of  joy  and  a  well  of  delight.  The  sudden 
cry  of  agony  is  from  a  child,  buoyant,  playful,  full  of 
life.  How  strange  the  association  at  such  a  time — child- 
hood and  pain.  Here  are  the  ravages  of  sin.  Rom.  v:  14. 
How  in  the  presence  of  such  sufferings  are  we  humbled 
and  awed  before  God. 

III.  Sorrow  may  come  in  the  midst  of  innocent  labor. 
Work  is  going  on  according  to   God's  ordinance  in  the 


32  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

harvest  field.  Old  and  young  cheerfully  engage  in  the 
reaping  work.  No  work  more  wholesome  or  pure.  The 
simplicity  and  purity  of  the  olden  time  characterize  the 
reapers.  Yet  death  invades  this  busy,  joyous  scene.  What 
place  is  safe  ?  What  people  or  work  have  an  immunity 
from  trouble  ?   The  trail  of  the  serpent  is  over  them  all. 

IV.  The  effect  of  this  sudden  sorrow.  The  father's 
heart  is  pierced  as  with  a  sword  by  that  cry  of  pain.  He 
feels  stunned,  is  helpless,  but  he  knows  where  love  and 
help  and  comfort  abide  for  a  child  when  weary  of  learn- 
ing, or  faulty,  or  pained,  or  stricken  by  sickness.  '*  Carry 
him  to  his  mother."  Everything  with  her  must  give  place 
to  the  little  invalid.  "His  mother" — true  refuge  for 
the  "weary — safe  resting-place  for  the  sick  and  dying 
child.     Mark: 

What  a  cliange  from  the  morning.  Left  home  full  of 
life  and  frolic,  returns  helpless,  unconscious,  dying.  How 
startling  to  the  mother  was  that  pale  countenance  of 
her  boy  as  she  received  him  on  her  knees  !  How  often 
had  she  dandled  him  and  kissed  him  while  there  before. 
How  she  now  hoped  against  hope  !  What  suspense  was 
hers  daring  the  closing  minutes  of  tlnit  forenoon.  "He 
sat  on  her  knees  till  noon  and  then  died." 

None  but  a  mother's  heart  knows  the  terrible  distress 
of  such  a  moment  in  such  a  scene.  Her  sun  had  gone 
down  at  noon.  How  tumultuous  the  thoughts  that 
crowded  her  soul !  How  great  the  trial  to  her  faith  ! 
God  seemed  to  have  forsaken  her  that  moment. 

V.  Mark  the  resuscitation  of  her  faith  and  hope.  God 
lives  and  all  is  not  lost,  is  her  recovering  thought.  She 
strengthens  her  heart  in  God.  Hurries  to  her  prophet — 
makes  her  passionate  appeal  to  him.  Hope  springs  up 
again  in  her  heart.     Nothing  is  too  hard  for  the  Lord. 

How  strange  and  solemn  the  scenes  in  that  chamber 
of  death  when  the  propliet  of  the  Lord  stretches  himself 


CHILDBOOD.  33 

on  that    child.      How   wonderful   the  reviyal.      What 
joyous  scenes  in  that  Hebrew  home  that  evening. 

What  lessons  for  us.  The  uncertainty  of  earthly 
things — the  power  of  faith.  The  willingness  of  God  to 
help — the  certainty  of  a  resurrection,  the  joy  and  glad 
ness  at  the  reunion  on  the  morning  of  the  last  day. 


THE   SHUNAMITE  AND  HER  SON. 

JOHK   BRUCE,    D.D. 

Is  it  well  with  tlie  child?  And  slie  answered,  It  is  well. — 2  Kings 
iv  :  26. 

npHIS  story  has  soothed  the  spirit  of  many  a  parent, 
and  is  still  fraught  with  consolation.     The  story  sug- 
gests : 

I.  The  Shunamite  though  a  godly  person  was  not  ex- 
empt from  family  bereavement.  She  had  one  on  whom 
her  affections  centred,  and  who  was  dear  to  her,  even  as 
her  own  soul.  To  him  she  clung  as  one  of  the  chief 
sources  of  her  enjoyment,  and  as  one  whose  life  seemed 
indispensable  to  her  own.  Yet  in  accordance  with  the 
sovereign  purpose  of  God,  she  was  called  to  part  with 
this  child.  In  the  morning  he  is  with  her  and  she  de- 
lights to  look  upon  his  opening  charms  and  to  indulge 
in  fond  anticipations  of  the  future.  At  noon  he  is 
struck  down  by  the  hand  of  death,  and  is  no  longer  hers. 
"When  the  child  was  grown,  etc." 

A  visitation  like  that  of  the  Shunamite,  is  not  un- 
common with  the  people  of  God.  The  grim  messenger 
enters  their  dwelling  and  commits  his  ravages  on  those 
whom  they  love.  Darkness  forthwith  covers  their  taberna- 
cle and  the  cheerful  household  hum  is  hushed.  This  is  the 
law  of  nature  acting  according  to  the  appointment  of 
2* 


U  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

Qo-^—"  By  one  man,  etc."  When  j^arcnts  see  their  ten- 
der flowers  blighted  and  cut  down,  it  well  becomes  them 
to  think  of  sin,  as  that  which  brought  death  into  the 
world  and  all  our  woe.  But  when  they  think  of  death 
through  the  first  man,  they  may  think  of  life  through  the 
second  man  Clirist  Jesus. 

II.  The  Shunamite,  though  a  pious  woman,  was  deep- 
ly grieved  by  the  loss  of  her  child.  When  Elisha  saw  her, 
he  saw  grief  depicted  on  her  countenance  ;  and  when  he 
saw  Gehazi  annoyed  her  with  his  importunity,  his  lan- 
guage was,  ''Let  her  alone,  for  her  soul  is  vexed  within 
her."  And  why  should  not  Christians  grieve  for  the  loss 
of  their  dear  children  ?  It  is  only  when  grief  becomes 
immoderate,  or  when  mourning  is  accompanied  by  mur- 
muring, that  it  is  offensive  to  God.  It  is  chiefly  because 
bereavements  awaken  sorrow,  that  they  lead  us  to  see 
our  need  of  God  and  to  seek  for  satisfaction  from  higher 
sources  than  the  world  with  all  its  transient  joys. 

III.  The  Shunamite  amidst  her  affliction,  betook  her- 
self to  God.  Elisha  was  not  only  a  man  of  God  but  a 
prophet  signally  attested  by  Jehovah.  In  a  certain  sense 
he  was  the  the  medium  of  intercourse  between  God  and 
man.  To  him  tlie  Shunamite  came  in  this  her  hour  of 
need — unbosomed  all  her  sorrow  and  looked  for  the  con- 
solation she  required.  The  restoration  of  the  child 
seemed  needful  to  the  realization  of  the  promise  that  had 
been  made  to  her.  The  Christian  parent  should  go  to 
God  in  the  season  of  bereavement.  '^He  knows  our 
frame,"  sympathizes,  pours  the  balm  of  consolation  into 
the  wounded  spirit.  He  does  not  afflict  willingly,  has 
gracious  designs,  assures  that  afflictions  '^  yield  the 
peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness  unto  tliem  which  are 
exercised  thereby."     He  leads  forth  by  the  right  way. 

IV.  The  Shunamite  acquiesced  in  the  bereaving  dis- 
pensation, painful  though  it  was.     When  Gehazi  met  her 


CHILDHOOD.  gS 

and  accosted  her  in  those  courteous  terms  .  .  .  "Is 
it  well  with  the  child  ?  She  answered,  It  is  well."  True, 
her  beloved  child  had  been  removed  from  her;  after  a 
short,  but  severe  conflict  with  trouble  he  had  closed 
his  eyes  in  death.  And  as  a  consequence  of  this  her 
tender  lieart  was  wrung  with  anguish  and  her  soul  was 
vexed  within  her.  But  still  she  could  say  **it  is  well." 
She  saw  the  hand  of  her  God  and  Father  in  the  trying 
dispensation,  and,  like  Job,  she  bowed  with  holy  sub- 
mission knowing  that  all  was  truth  and  mercy  sure.  It 
should  not  require  many  words  to  persuade  bereaved  par- 
ents, that  with  them  also  it  is  well. 

Fond  parent,  look  to  thy  child  in  its  glorified  state, 
for  ^^of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Think  of  him 
as  raised  above  all  sorrow,  and  suffering,  and  imper- 
fection, and  mingling  with  the  innumerable  company  of 
the  redeemed. 

"  Forgive,  blest  shade,  the  tributary  tear, 

That  mourns  thine  exit  from  a  world  like  this: 

Forgive  the  wish  that  would  have  kept  thee  here, 
Aud  stayed  thy  progress  to  the  realms  of  bliss." 


THE  CHILD  AND  THE  FATHER'S  CUP. 

THEO.  L.   CUTLER,  D.D. 

Jesus  took  a  Uttle  child  and  set  Mm  in  the  midst  of  them. — Matt. 

xviii  :  2. 

npHIS  was  done  to  rebuke  the  selfish  ambition  of  His 
disciples.  Children  are  still  placed  in  houses  to  be 
teachers  as  well  as  to  be  taught  themselves.  No  house 
is  *^  furnished  "  until  God  in  his  loving  kindness  sets  a 
little  child  in  tlie  midst  of  it.     They  teach  lessons. 

i.   Patience.     A  virtue  that  some  are  slow  in  acquir- 


36  MEMOniAL      TR1BUTE8. 

ing.  None  can  teach  it  better  than  a  helpless,  depend- 
ent and  often  wayward  and  exacting  child.  *^  Bear  with 
me,"  is  the  meaning  of  its  long  wakeful  nights  and 
peevish  cry,  and  of  its  dullness  in  getting  its  lessons. 
If  telling  the  same  thing  unsuccessfully  for  eleven  times 
remember  the  twelfth  time  you  may  succeed.  God  is 
patient  with  us.  He  would  have  us  patient  with  our 
children. 

II.  They  teach  us  our  faults.  They  are  household 
mirrors  to  reflect  our  faults.  Their  ebullitions  of  temper 
show  how  ridiculous  ours  are.  We  are  photographed  on 
them.  This  family  likeness  is  sometimes  frightful. 
Think  that  in  every  fault  of  theirs  you  see  yourself  as  in 
a  looking-glass. 

III.  They  show  us  our  graces.  By  seeking  Jesus 
they  follow  the  example  set  by  father  or  mother,  or 
both — so  also  when  they  consecrate  themselves  to  God 
and  confess  Christ,  they  are  only  reflecting  in  their  own 
lives,  our  lives.  In  like  manner  is  their  after  career  of 
usefulness  and  honor.  If  we  are  properly  taught  by  our 
children  on  earth,  and  we  teach  them  the  way  of  life, 
our  reward  will  be  that  Jesus  will  set  our  child  in  the 
midst  of  us  in  heaven. 

God  often  calls  these  children  home.  This  is  the 
bitter  cup  he  gives  us  to  drink.  He  knows  our  soul's 
disease.  He  is  the  wisest  and  best  of  physicians,  never 
selects  the  ''wrong  bottle,"  and  never  gives  one  drop  too 
much  of  the  corrective  medicine.  Ho  does  all  things 
well.  His  children  must  trust  their  Father.  He 
chastens  for  our  profit  that  we  may  be  partakers  of  his 
holiness. 

God  sees  that  some  one  in  the  family  has  need  of  his 
spiritual  skill — from  indulged  sin,  from  weakening  of 
the  graces,  and  He  gives  a  cup  of  bitter  disappointment 
— the  gourd  that  was  so  gr;i!eful  and  refreshing  withers. 


CHILDHOOD.  37 

Patient  submission,  humble  acquiescence,  and  unfalter- 
ing trust  and  hope  are  the  lessons  God  would  teach  and 
what  the  soul's  disease  requires.  If  the  cup  had  not 
been  drank  the  blessings  would  have  been  lost ;  if  the 
child  had  not  died,  the  idol  would  have  been  en- 
throned. 

God's  cups  may  be  bitter,  and  you  may  be  long  in 
draining  them,  at  the  bottom  lies  a  precious  blessing, 
Eich  graces  lie  there.  For  this  reason  the  *^  trial  "of 
faith  is  precious.  So  Abraham  and  Job  and  all  God's 
children  have  found  it. 

Be  not  surprised  when  God  mixes  such  a  bitter  cup 
for  you  as  the  death  of  a  child.  You  need  that 
medicine.  The  best  tonic  medicines  are  bitter.  They 
have  a  merciful  purpose.  It  is  your  Father's  cup. 
Drink  it,  unhesitatingly,  uncomplainingly,  and  with 
the  spirit  of  that  Beloved  Son,  who  said,  "  Not  my  will 
but  thine  be  done." 


EARLY  DEATH. 

BY  J.  R.  MACDUFF,  D.D. 
The  righteous  is  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come,  etc. — Isa.  57:  1,  2. 
T^HE  young  king  Josiah,  who  ascended  the  throne  of 
Judah  at  the  tender  age  of  eight,  is  considered  to  be 
the  righteous  one  here  specially  referred  to.  He  proved 
himself  the  most  godly  of  his  royal  race.  2  Kings  23  : 
25.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  brought  by  means  of 
perusal  of  the  Divine  Law  under  the  fervid  power  of  per- 
sonal piety  and  from  that  day  onwards,  during  a  memor- 
able decade,  ho  became  priest  and  king  in  one.  He  swept 
away  every  vestige  of  idolatry  and  restored  the  purity  of 
the  Temple- Worship. 

But,  strange,  mysterious  dispensation  !  Just  when  in 


38  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

the  flower  of  his  youth  and  whenhispeople  were  prosper- 
ing in  peace  and  piety  he  is  brought  bleeding  and  wounded 
from  the  battle-field  and  dies  in  his  cliariot,  ere  he  can 
reach  liis  palace  in  Jerusalem.  The  national  grief  was 
deep  and  intense,  and  a  national  dirge  composed  by  Jere- 
miah was  for  many  years  sung  on  the  spot  where  he  re- 
ceived the  fatal  wound,  the  best  choristers  of  Israel 
tendering  their  services  on  the  occasion. 

Josiah's  case  is  not  singular.  The  book  of  memory 
will  reveal  many  whose  young  and  cherished  names  are 
written  upon  grave-stones.  Such  early  removal  forms  a 
problem  insoluble  by  our  poor  reason.  We  can  under- 
stand the  removal  of  the  hoary-headed  sinner  and  of  the 
aged  Christian,  but  the  Josiahs  of  early  and  brilliant 
promise  and  the  Lazaruses,  the  young  life  and  light 
of  the  Bethany  homes — where  is  the  wisdom  or  the  love 
in  stripping  the  temple  of  its  pillars,  "  Beauty  and 
Strength"? 

The  words  of  Isaiah  give  a  twofold  answer  to  these 
questions  and  mysteries.     The 

1st.  Negative.  ^' The  righteous  is  taken  away  from 
the  evil  to  come."  It  was  so  in  the  case  of  Josiah.  Why 
is  the  ''staff  broken  and  the  beautiful  rod"  might  have 
been  the  sorrowful  inquiry  of  both  the  Israelites  and 
of  Josiah.  But  they  were  all  in  ignorance  of  the  future. 
He  and  they  had  mercifully  not  revealed  to  them  the 
impending  invasion  of  the  armies  of  Babylon  and  the 
miseries  which  were  entailed  on  his  unhappy  city  and 
country.  Jeremiah  refers  to  this  in  his  22  chap.  God 
does  not  disguise  from  the  young  king  the  reason  of  his 
early  departure.  2  Kings  22  :  18-20.  What  was  true  of 
Josiah's  early  death  is  applicable  to  all.  Often,  when  we 
can  see  no  love  or  kindness  or  wisdom  in  these  early 
graves,  it  is  because  the  morrow  to  us  is  mercifully 
veiled.     Who  can  tell  if  tlie  loved  and  early  lost  had 


CHILDHOOD.  39 

been  spared,  what  trials  might  have  been  in  reserve  for 
them,  or  what  sins  and  temptations  might  have  over- 
taken them  ?  Better  the  brief  loan  with  its  hallowed 
and  undarkened  memories  than  the  prolonged  life  with 
its  possible  evils — '* taken  away  from  the  evil  to 
come." 

II.  The  words  of  the  prophet  give  a  positive  expla- 
nation. ^' He  shall  enter  into  peace,  etc."  This  Josiah 
did.  This  is  one  of  the  beautiful  Old  Testament  evi- 
dences of  the  immediate  blessedness  of  the  departed 
righteous.  The  body  rested  as  in  a  bed,  the  spirit  that 
walked  uprightly  on  earth  continues,  in  a  loftier  state  of 
existence,  this  elevated  walk.  The  work  cut  short  in 
this  world  is  not  arrested,  it  is  only  transferred.  The 
merciful  are  '^gathered,"  as  a  better  translation  has  it; 
not  wrenched  away,  but  gathered  to  unite  in  the  wor- 
ship of  the  great  congregation  in  the  upper  sanctuary. 
Let  us  listen  to  the  whispering  of  angels  around  the 
pillows  of  the  early  departing  ones.  "Ho  shall  enter 
into  peace."     '^He  shall  walk  in  his  uprightness." 

Besides,  the  "righteous"  survive  dissolution  even  in 
this  world,  in  their  deathless  memories  of  goodness  and 
worth,  they  continue  to  "  walk."  The  uprightness  is 
not  laid  by  with  their  funeral  shroud,  or  merely  carved 
in  the  epitaph  on  their  grave-stones.  No!  it  lives.  The 
sun  has  vanished,  but  the  glow  still  reddens  the  moun- 
tains and  glorifies  the  evening  clouds.  It  was  so  with 
Josiah.  2  Ohron.  35,  26.  His  deeds  were  also  written  deep 
on  the  nation's  heart,and  in  imperishable  memorial  in  the 
chronicles  of  the  great  and  good  of  all  time.  "Early," 
when  applied  to  death,  is  a  term  only  relative  to  the 
body  ;  the  spirit,  the  character,  the  man,  still  lives,  and 
the  old  promise  becomes  literally  true  regarding  those 
|)ie maturely  taken  away — '^  with  long  life  will  I  satisfy 
him  and  show  him  my  salvation."     ''He  asked   life  of 


40  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

thee  and  thou  gavest  it  to  him,  even  length  of  days  for 
ever  and  ever.     Ps.  21:  4. 


THE  TEACHING  OF  A  CHILD'S  DEATH. 

WM.  M.  TAYLOR,    D.D. 

Can  1  bring  Mm  hack  again  ?   I  shall  go  to  Mm,  hut  he  shad  not 

return  to  me.    2  Sam.  xii :  23. 

O  lOKNESS  had  come  into  the  Palace.  "  The  Lord 
^  struck  the  child."  David  was  greatly  distressed  by 
this  event.  Not  only  was  he  saddened  by  the  sufferings 
of  the  child,  but  because  Nathan  had  specially  connected 
all  the  pangs  of  the  child  with  David's  sin.  Hence 
every  quiver  of  pain  the  infant  gave  was  a  new  needle- 
point thrust  into  his  own  conscience.  David  betook 
himself  to  God  in  prayer,  while  the  sickness  lasted. 
This,  shows  that  David  was  God's  child,  though  he  had 
sinned.  He  besought  God  both  for  himself  (Ps.  vi:  1-4) 
and  for  the  child.  Though  he  had  been  told  that  the 
child  would  die,  he  yet  besought  God  for  its  life. 
There  is  always  *'who  can  tell,"  what  God  may  do. 

The  child  died,  and  when  David  knew  it  he  came  to 
his  house,  asked  for  bread  and  ate  it.  His  servants 
required  an  explanation,  and  here  it  is,  showing  the 
strength  of  his  character  and  the  firmness  of  his  faith 
in  a  future  life.     ''  While  the  child,  &c." 

David's  resignation  was  the  result  of  his  persuasion 
of  the  happiness  of  his  departed  child  and  of  his  humble 
hope  of  joining  him  therein.     Practical  teachings. 

I.  The  illness  and  death  of  little  children  may  be  in- 
timately connected  with  the  conduct  and  spiritual  history 
of  the  parents.  They  belong  indeed  to  a  tainted  race, 
and  their  death  shows   their  connection   with   Adam  ; 


CHILDHOOD.  41 

but  it  may  also  be  caused  or  connected  with  the 
character  of  their  immediate  parents.  Tiieir  death  may 
be  the  penal  consequences  of  their  sins,  or  it  may  occur 
to  lead  them  to  thoughtfulness  and  to  quicken  their 
spiritual  life.  They  may  have  been  permitting  the  world 
to  have  too  large  a  share  of  their  attention,  or  permitting 
themselves  to  become  enslaved  by  some  degrading  habit, 
or  they  may  be  unconverted.  The  death  of  infants  may 
have  a  corrective,  restrictive  or  preventive  power  on 
the  parents  or  other  members  of  the  family. 

II.  The  surest  solace  under  the  affliction  and  death 
of  infants  is  in  God.  David  has  recourse  to  prayer,  and 
what  he  sought  for  was  not  granted,  but  he  got  strength  to 
bear  the  stroke.  It  would  not  have  been  good  either  for 
himself  or  his  people  to  have  had  his  prayer  literally 
granted.  But  his  tears  of  weakness  had  brought  down 
God's  strength.  Let  us,  in  all  trials,  repair  to  the 
''mercy  seat." 

III.  We  may  cherish  the  most  unwavering  assurance 
of  the  salvation  of  those  who  die  in  infancy.  David's 
words  teach  this.  He,  under  the  Jewish  dispensation, 
had  the  fullest  persuasion  of  the  eternal  welfare  of  his 
baby  boy.  There  are  several  things  recorded  which 
tend  to  make  the  doctrine  of  infant  salvation  perfectly 
indubitable. 

Over  and  above  the  fact  that  they  have  not  com- 
mitted actual  transgression  and  do  not  personally 
deserve  condemnation,  and  may  be  presumably  regarded 
as  included  in  the  provisions  of  the  covenant  of  grace ; 
there  are  certain  things  which  place  this  doctrine  beyond 
all  question.     There  seems  : 

1.  A  moral  impossibility  involved  in  the  very  thought 
of  infants  being  consigned  to  perdition.  They  have 
neither  memory  nor  conscience,  the  elements  in  the 
puuishment  uf  the  lost. 


42  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

2.  There  are  positive  indications  that  infa7its  are  in- 
cluded in  the  icorh  of  Christ.  There  is  no  passage  in 
which  it  is  stated  in  so  many  words,  but  many  passages 
which  very  clearly  imply  it.  Thus  Jesus  said  of  infants, 
*^of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  meaning  ''of 
these  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  and  for  this  reason 
He  took  up  little  children  in  his  arms. 

3.  Tlie  tone  arid  spirit  of  the  gospel  favors  the  idea  of 
infant  salvation.  The  Saviour  was  peculiarly  tender  to 
the  little  ones.  It  was  foretold  that  He  should  carry 
the  lambs  in  his  bosom,  and  his  infinite  atonement  would 
be  shorn  of  half  its  glory  if  it  were  not  available  for  little 
children. 

Let  us  consider  to  whom  they  have  gone.  They  have 
been  taken  to  the  arms  of  Jesus  and  to  the  bright  glory 
of  the  heavenly  state.  Let  us  consider  from  luhat  they 
have  been  taken.  They  have  been  removed  from  earth 
with  its  pains  and  privations,  its  sufferings  and  sorrows, 
and  from  the  spiritual  dangers  with  which  the  world  is 
environed.  Ferliaps  they  would  have  fallen.  A  living 
cross  is  heavier  than  a  dead  one. 

Let  us  consider  for  luhat  our  little  ones  have  hee^i 
taken  away.  Perhaps  we  have  been  wandering  away 
from  Christ,  or  we  may  have  never  known  Him,  or  this 
may  have  been  the  case  with  some  member  of  the  family. 
God  has  taken  the  child  away  to  bring  us  back,  or  to 
bring  us  to  Himself.     Why  then  shall  we  repine  ? 

Let  us  consider  how  this  hereavement  will  appear  to 
us  when  we  come  to  die  ourselves.  The  great  concern 
then  will  be  about  those  we  are  leaving  behind  us. 
There  will  be  no  anxiety  about  those  who  have  gone 
before. 

The  appropriation  of  these  consolations  imp>lies  that 
we  ourselves  are  jour 7ieying  heavenwards.  *' I  shall  go  to 
him."     The   departed   child    is  in   heaven.     Are  you 


GUILDHOOD.  43 

advancing  towards  heaven  ?  If  not,  these  comforts  are 
not  yoiu's,  and  a  great  gulf  will  be  eternally  fixed  between 
yon  and  your  child.''  Let  then  the  memory  of  your 
departed  little  ones  stir  you  up  into  religious  earnestness. 
Do  not  resist  the  appeal. 


A  CHILD'S  TRUE  ESTIMATE. 

ANONYMOUS. 

A  little  cldld  shall  lead  them. — ^Isa.  vi :  6. 
'T^HESE  words   were  written   to  illustrate  the  great 
-■-    quiet  that  shall  fall  upon  this  troubled  earth  when 
the  Redeemer's  Kingdom  is  fully  prevalent  on  the  earth. 
So  docile  will  even  wild  beasts  be  that  a  little  child  shall 
lead  them  without  fright  or  danger.     Little  children  it 
will  be  seen,  by  revelation,  have  a  large  place   in   the 
revelation  and  purpose  of  God.     They  are  included   in 
the  Covenants,  are  made  the  subjects  of   circumcision, 
are  given  by  promise  and  granted  in  answer  to  prayer, 
are  accepted  as  objects  of  consecration,  raised  from  the 
dead,  nurtured  by  angels.     The  cry  of  little  Ishmael— 
outside  of  the  Special  Covenant  as  he  was— touched  the 
heart  of  God  as  well  as  the  heart  of  Hagar  his  mother. 
In  the  New  Testament   their  privileges  are  unrevoked. 
The  promise  is  unto  us  and  to  our  children.     We  find 
that  touching  act  of  Jesus  taking  little  children  in  his 
arms  and  blessing  them  and  leaving  to  his  church   the 
sufferance   that   little  children  should  come  unto  him 
without  hindrance.     We  find  them  declared  to  be  capa- 
ble  of    receiving  blessing,    even    though    but   infants, 
children  without  speech.     He  who  gives  them  knows  the 
avenues  by  which  their  souls  are  reached,   and  how  as 
their  great  High  Priest  to  apply  to  them    the   blood  of 


44  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

everlasting  cleansing.  It  is  to  the  Bible  we  owe  our 
estimate  of  their  worth,  and  the  lesson  that,  hov»'ever 
young  they  may  be  called  away,  they  have  not  lived  in 
vain.     Then  are  two  thoughts  in  our  text. 

1st.  The  child-measure.  There  have  been  two  nota- 
ble ways  of  estimating  the  value  of  a  human  soul. 

1.  What  the  soul  is  able  to  accomplish.  This  was 
the  old  Roman  conception.  Power  to  do  was  the  ex- 
ponent of  the  Roman  mind.  Scripture  has  recognized 
this  characteristic  of  Roman  civilization  and  presented 
the  Messiah  in  Mark's  gospel  as  the  man  of  power.  He 
is  the  great  hero  who  conquers  diseases,  demons  and 
death  and  whose  earthly  mission  was  that  of  Conqueror 
of  a  lost  and  ruined  world.  A  Roman  mother,  rather 
than  see  her  child  grow  up  a  coward,  would  gladly  see 
him  impale  himself  upon  his  own  sword. 

2d.  God's  standard  of  measurement  is,  not  what  the 
soul  does,  but  what  the  soul  is.  It  is  no  thought  of  the 
Bible  that  those  who  die  in  cradles  are  less  to  be  noticed 
than  those  who  go  up  from  gory  fields,  etc.  God  measures 
the  soul  not  by  what  it  has  been  able  to  accomplish,  not  by 
the  figure  it  has  been  able  to  cut  in  the  drama  of  existence. 
It  is  like  gold,  j^recious  for  its  sake.  God  has  tempered  the 
soul  to  the  economy  of  its  earthly  existence.  Fqw  souls 
ever  live  to  magnify  themselves  by  deeds.  Many  fall 
still-born  into  the  grave.  Many  before  they  find  utterance 
for  their  thoughts.  Many  before  they  answer  the  roll-call 
of  public  duty.  Others  are  born  to  that  weakness  of 
mind  which  makes  necessary  our  hospitals  for  the 
idiotic  and  insane.  Well  has  God  said,  ^'  Not  by  works, 
lest  any  man  should  boast."  He  looks  not  to  deeds,  but 
to  the  soul.  Hope  may  be  written  over  the  grave  in 
which  lies  the  late  occupant  of  a  crib,  as  well  as  the  recent 
occupant  of  a  throne.  Herod  who  slew  the  Judean 
children  was  more  merciful  than  he  who  teaches  that 


CHILDHOOD,  4S 

God  saves  on  account  of  what  we  do.  For  if  this  be 
true,  where  are  the  children  ?  They  are  without  gospel 
— left  as  lambs  for  the  slaughter — left  without  any 
fellowship  with  the  holy  child  Jesus.  But  if  we  take  the 
soul  itself  as  the  standard  by  which  human  existence  is  to 
be  valued,  we  thereby  get  a  standard  by  which  the  value  of 
every  human  existence  may  be  computed.  Then  one 
touch  of  the  finger  of  grace  removes  the  stains  which 
have  dimmed  the  divine  image  and  superscription  upon 
an  infant's  soul.  In  it  was  the  breath  of  God,  before 
it  lies  the  blood  of  Christ  and  beyond  this  blood  lie  the 
boundless  steeps  which  lead  up  to  the  lofty  perfections 
of  Jehovah.  It  has  responded  to  the  purpose  of  him 
who  called  it  into  being.  It  tarried  a  second  or  two  on 
the  threshold,  God's  angels  lifted  the  everlasting  doors 
of  grace  and  glory,  and  it  entered  the  last  penetralia  of 
the  future.  Thus  the  precious  word  of  God  has  given 
us  a  scheme  of  grace  which  reaches  to  the  youngest 
child. 

II.  Children  have  a  mission,  not  of  deeds  but  of  in- 
fluence. It  is  diflScult  to  define  influence.  It  is  an  in- 
visible power  which  by  subtle  methods  moves  us  to  action 
or  serves  as  a  restraint.  The  world  owes  a  great  debt  to 
children  for  their  unconscious  and  largely  unintentional 
influence.     By  it  they  radiate  and  bless  the  world. 

The  great  lesson  of  self-sacrifice  is  learned  from  their 
presence,  a  lesson  which  is  seldom  learned  in  any  house- 
hold where  the  cry  of  a  child  is  not  frequently  heard. 
No  other  animal  comes  into  time-relations  with  so  much 
peril.  No  man  can  compute  the  sacrifices,  weigh  the  sighs 
or  bottle  the  tears  which  parents  give  to  their  offspriug. 

Many  a  spring  of  tenderness  too  has  been  opened  by 
a  child  which  every  other  influence  has  seemed  power- 
less to  open.  Many  a  falling  house  has  thus  becu  kept 
together.     Society  would  be  houcy-combcd  into  absolute 


46  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

pleasure-seeking  or  money-making  or  self-seeking  if  the 
influence  of  children  were  removed.  Even  their  depart- 
ure makes  the  world  assume  something  of  that  true 
aspect  which  God  has  given  it  in  his  word,  and  heaven 
is  anchored  to  many  a  heart  more  peacefully  and  hope- 
fully because  of  the  children  that  are  there.  Many  a 
time  has  the  Great  Shepherd  led  his  children  nearer  the 
eternal  world  by  carrying  a  lamb  or  two  aliead  as  fresh 
challenges  to  the  parents  to  follow  after.  *'  A  little  child 
shall  lead  them."  We  should  take  the  language  of  the 
Shunamite  Avomanto  express  our  allegiance  to  the  Divine 
government  in  the  day  of  our  bereavement.  "It  is  well " 
with  child,  father,  mother — not  because  jDarental  instinct 
had  perished,  or  because  the  child  was  less  loved  than 
before.  But  it  is  well,  because  God's  ways  are  always 
right — because  another  has  been  delivered  from  the  evil 
that  is  in  the  world — because  it  is  no  small  thing  that 
God  puts  everlasting  lionor  upon  our  children,  because 
it  is  not  a  thing  for  comfortless  grief  that  Jesus  suffers 
little  children  to  come  to  him. 

The  keeper  of  the  vineyard  takes  away  the  twig  for 
the  deeper  rooting  and  fruitfulness  of  the  vine,  and  we 
know  his  wisdom  and  answer  not  a  word. 

Is  it  not  time  that  the  family  should  be  gathering  on 
the  hill-tops  of  glory  ?  '  That  your  house  on  high  be 
furnished — that  your  mansion  should  be  decorated  with 
those  blossoms  which  have  been  your  delight  on  earth  ? 
May  their  going  be  the  means  of  deeper  meditation  on 
the  excellence  of  eternal  things. 


CHILDHOOD.  41' 


HOME  BEREAVEMENTS. 

HENRY  WARD  BEECHER. 

Remarks  made  at  i?ie  funeral  of  a  child  in  Plymouth  Churchy 

Brooklyn. 

TTTE  are  joined  together,  many  of  us,  by  a  common 
experience.  Many  of  us  have  met  in  each 
others'  houses  and  in  each  others'  company  on  just  such 
errands  of  grief  and  sympathy  and  Christian  triumph  as 
this.  How  many  of  us  have  sent  children  forward  ;  and 
how  many  of  us  feel  to-day  that  all  things  are  for  our 
sakes ;  and  that  those  things  which  for  the  present  are 
not  joyous  but  grievous,  nevertheless  woriv  in  us  the 
peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  ! .  So  we  stand  in  what 
may  be  called  a  relationship  of  grief.  We  are  knit  to- 
gether and  brought  into  each  others'  company  by  the 
ministration  of  grief ,  made  Christian  and  blessed. 

To  be  sure,  if  we  were  to  ask  this  life  what  would  be 
best,  there  is  no  father,  there  is  no  mother,  who  would 
not  plead  with  all  the  strength  which  lies  in  natural 
affection,  ''  Spare  me,  and  spare  mine."  For  the  out- 
ward man  this  is  reasonable  and  unrebukable  ;  and  yet, 
if  it  be  overruled  by  Him  who  loves  us  even  better  than 
He  loves  his  own  life,  then  there  comes  the  revelation  of 
another  trutli  :  namely,  that  the  things  which  are  seen 
are  the  unreal  thingS;  and  that  the  real  things  are  the 
things  which  are  invisible. 

When  our  children  that  are  so  dear  to  us  are  plucked 
out  of  our  arms,  and  carried  away,  we  feel,  for  the  time 
being,  that  we  have  lost  them,  because  our  body  does 
not  triumph  ;  but  are  they  taken  from  our  inward  man  ? 
Are  they  taken  from  that  which  is  to  be  saved — the  spirit- 
ual man  ?  Are  they  taken  from  memory  ?  Are  they  taken 
from  love  ?    Are  they  taken  from  the  scope  and  reach  of 


48  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

the  imagination,  which  in  its  sanctified  form,  is  only 
another  name  for  faith  ?  Do  we  not  sometimes  dwell 
with  them  more  intimately  than  we  did  when  they  were 
with  us  on  earth  ?  The  care  of  them  is  no  longer  ours, 
that  love-burden  we  bear  no  longer,  since  they  are  with 
the  angels  of  God  and  with  God  ;  and  we  shed  tears  over 
what  seems  to  be  our  loss ;  but  do  they  not  hover  in  the 
air  over  our  heads  ?  And  to-day  could  the  room  hold 
them  all  ? 

As  you  recollect,  the  background  of  the  Sistine 
Madonna,  at  Dresden  (in  some  respects  the  most  wonder- 
ful picture  of  maternal  love  which  exists  in  the  world), 
for  a  long  time  was  merely  dark  ;  and  an  artist,  in 
making  some  repairs,  discovered  a  cherub's  face  in  the 
grime  of  that  dark  background  ;  and  being  led  to  sus- 
pect that  the  picture  had  been  overlaid  by  time  and  neg- 
lect, commenced  cleansing  it ;  and  as  he  went  on,  cherub 
after  cherub  appeared,  until  it  was  found  that  the  Ma- 
donna was  on  a  background  made  up  wholly  of  little 
heavenly  cherubs. 

Now,  by  nature  motherhood  stands  against  a  dark 
background  ;  but  that  background  being  cleaned  by  the 
touch  of  God,  and  by  the  cleansing  hand  of  faith,  we 
see  that  the  whole  heaven  is  full  of  little  cherub  faces. 
And  to-day  it  is  not  this  little  child  alone  that  we  look 
at,  which  we  see  only  in  the  outward  guise  ;  we  look 
upon  a  background  of  children  innumerable,  each  one  as 
sweet  to  its  mother's  heart  as  this  child  has  been  to  its 
mother's  heart,  each  one  as  dear  to  the  clasping  arms  of 
its  father  as  this  child  has  been  to  the  clasping  arms  of 
its  father ;  and  it  is  in  good  company.  It  is  in  a  spring- 
land.  It  is  in  a  summer-world.  It  is  with  God.  You 
have  given  it  back  to  Him  who  lent  it  to  you. 

Now,  the  giving  back  is  very  hard,  but  you  cannot 
give  back  to  God  all  that  you  received  with  your  child. 


CHILDHOOD,  49 

YoLi  cannot  give  back  to  God  those  springs  of  new  and 
deeper  affection  wliicli  were  awakened  by  the  coming  of 
this  little  one.  You  cannot  give  back  to  God  the  experi- 
ences which  you  have  had  in  dwelling  with  your  darling. 
You  cannot  give  back  to  God  the  hours  which,  when  you 
look  upon  them  now,  seem  like  one  golden  chain  of 
linked  happiness. 

You  are  better,  you  are  riper,  you  are  richer,  even  in 
this  hour  of  bereavement,  than  you  were.  God  gave ; 
and  he  has  not  taken  away  except  in  outward  form.  He 
holds,  he  keeps,  he  reserves,  he  watches,  he  loves.  You 
shall  have  again  that  which  you  have  given  back  to  him 
only  outwardly. 

Meanwhile,  the  key  is  in  your  hand  ;  and  it  is  not  a 
black  iron  key  ;  it  is  a  golden  key  of  faith  and  love. 
This  little  child  has  taught  you  to  follow  it.  There  will 
not  be  a  sunrise  or  a  sunset  when  you  will  not  in  imagina- 
tion go  through  the  gate  of  heaven  after  it.  There  is 
no  door  so  fast  that  a  mother's  love  and  a  father's  love 
will  not  open  it  and  follow  a  beloved  child.  And  so,  by 
its  ministration,  this  child  will  guide  you  a  thousand 
times  into  a  realization  of  the  great  spirit-land,  and  into 
a  faith  of  the  invisible,  which  will  make  you  as  much 
larger  as  it  makes  you  less  dependent  on  the  body,  and 
more  rich  in  the  fruitage  of  the  spirit. 

To-day,  then,  we  have  an  errand  of  thanksgiving. 
We  thank  God  for  sending  this  little  gift  into  this 
household.  We  thank  God  for  the  light  which  he  kin- 
dled here,  and  which  burned  with  so  pure  a  flame,  and 
taught  so  sweet  a  lesson.  And  we  thank  God,  that, 
when  this  child  was  to  go  to  a  better  place,  it  walked  so 
few  steps,  for  so  few  hours,  through  pain.  Men  who 
look  on  the  dark  side  shake  the  head,  and  say,  "Oh, 
how  sudden  !"  but  I  say.  Since  it  u-.is  to  u-o,  God  be 
thanked  that  it  was  permitr*  ;'  ijli  -<>  l)ii(  f  a 

8 


§0  MEMORIAL     fkinijfMS. 

period  of  suffering ;  that  there  were  no  long  weeks  ot* 
months  of  gradual  decay  and  then  a  final  extinction  ; 
that  out  of  the  fullness  of  health  it  dropped  into  the  full- 
ness of  heaven,  leaving  its  body  as  it  lies  before  you  to- 
day a  thing  of  beauty.  Blessed  be  God  for  such  mercy 
in  the  ministration  of  sickness  and  of  departure. 

I  appreciate  your  sorrow,  having  myself  often  gone 
through  this  experience  ;  and  I  can  say  that  there  is  no 
other  experience  which  throws  such  a  light  upon  the 
storm-cloud.  We  are  never  ripe  till  we  have  been  made 
so  by  suffering.  We  belong  to  those  fruits  which  must 
be  touched  by  frost  before  they  lose  their  sourness  and 
come  to  their  sweetness.  I  see  the  goodness  of  God  in 
tiiis  dispensation  as  pointing  us  toward  heaven  and  im- 
mortality. In  this  bereavement  there  is  cause  for  re- 
joicing; for  sure  it  is  that  you  and  your  child  shall  meet 
again  never  to  be  separated. 


INFANT  SALVATION. 

REV.   CHARLES  A.  EVANS. 

Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  kindgom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  shaU 

in  no  wise  enter  therein.     I/qke  xviii :  17. 

/^UR  text,  on  the  authority  of  our  Lord,  teaches  one 
^^  of  the  most  consoling,  supporting,  heart-cheering 
doctrines  to  the  bereaved  parent,  that  is  contained  in 
the  holy  scriptures — that  is,  that  little  children  are 
redeemed  and  glorified.  That  this  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
text  is  indisputably  clear,  botii  from  the  connection  in 
which  it  stands,  and  also  from  the  meaning  of  the 
phrase  '^Kingdom  of  God."  In  the  preceding  context, 
the  Saviour  made  use  of  a  parable,  in  order  to  convince 
the  Jews  of  the  impossibility  of  being  justified  by  works, 


CHiLDHOOt).  51 

or  self  righteousness  ;  and  having  thus  presented  to  the 
Pharisees  this  truth,  immediately  infant  children  were 
brought  that  he  might  bless  them.  This  no  doubt  was 
a  custom  among  believing  Jews  then,  and  based  on 
that  proj^hetical  promise  in  Isaiah,  44th  chapter,  3rd 
verse,  and  was  to  be  fulUlled  in  gospel  days — *'I  will 
pour  out  my  spirit  upon  thy  seed,  and  my  blessing  upon 
thine  offspring."  Having  taken  them  in  his  arms  and 
blessed  them,  saying,  ''for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of 
God,"  he  subjoins  in  application  to  the  Pharisees^ 
"Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  a 
little  child,  shall  in  no  wise  enter  therein."  The 
Pharisee  boasted  of  his  own  righteousness,  as  the  ground 
on  which  he  should  be  justified,  and  admitted  to  the 
Kingdom  of  Glory  ;  and  Christ  immediately  applies  the 
case  of  the  infant  as  regards  the  grounds  of  its  salvation, 
to  show  the  proud  Pharisee  that  his  theory  of  salvation 
is  false,  and  that  in  order  to  be  saved  he  must  renounce 
all  self,  humble  himself,  and  if  he  will  be  saved,  receive 
Heaven  as  the  infant  child  receives  it.  Now  the  ques- 
tion arises,  how  does  the  infant  receive  the  glories  of 
Heaven  ?  The  word  receive  clearly  implies  that  it  is  a 
gift  of  its  Heavenly  Father  ;  and  indeed  this  is  the  in- 
variable teaching  of  God,  botli  in  regard  to  infants  and 
adults.  "■  By  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be 
justified  in  the  sight  of  God,"  "by  grace  are  you 
saved,"  or,  as  the  word  grace  means,  unmerited  favor. 
To  sum  up  the  matter,  it  is  as  if  Christ  had  said.  Boast- 
ing Pharisee,  whoever  you  are,  unless  you  renounce 
merit  on  your  part,  and  receive  Heaven  as  an  unmerited 
gift  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  lost  sinner, 
you  can  never  enter  therein.  Just  as  these  little 
children  who  have  never  done  good  or  evil  personally, 
(though  federally  sinners,)  will  be  admitted  to  Heaven  ; 
for,  liaving  no  merit  to  plead,  they  receive  glory  as  a 


52  Ml£MOniAL      fUlBtTTM. 

li\il  of  rnf;n;y.  'V\va\,  UiIk  ifi  Uio  true  interpretation,  })oth 
of  tlio  text  and  (;ofit(5xt,  we  tliink  Ih  very  clear,  aH  the 
ternri  or  plii'asi!  '' Kirif^doin  of  llcuven"  here  cannot 
mean  any  othor  th;i,n  iJn;  Kingdom  of  Glory,  and  har- 
monize with  th(;  context,  and   tlie  design  of  the  Savioui-. 

B(;sideH,  tiie  hmgiiage  \h  not  Tins  little  child,  but  a 
little  child;  meaning  any  or  every  little  child  indefinitely. 
'^Whosoever  nhall  not  receive  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  A 
little  child,"  etc.  'IMjis  is  a  doctrine  not  of  modern  date, 
nor  of  man's  invention.  It  has  been  advocated  in  all 
periods  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  as  appears  from 
the  history  of  the  church,  and  no  doubt  it  never  was 
disj)uted  until  the  church  was  corrupted  with  heresy. 

The  pi'obability  is,  tiiat  the  opposite  opinion  orig- 
inated witli  Papacy,  and  was  afterwards  abetted  by  all  of 
like  sentinuiut;  holding  either  to  baptisnnil  regenera- 
tion, or  good  works  in  oi-dci-  to  salvation,  or  ])(n-haps  to 
both. 

My  obj(!(;l,  is,  hj'st,  to  give  you  a  bi'ief  history  of  this 
doctriru!  with  ai-gumental  proof  of  its  truth  ;  se(;ondly, 
th(!  prohuble  reasons  that  infants  are  translated  to 
henven  in  infjuujy.  And  in  the  last  place,  make  an 
jipplication. 

First  then  as  to  the  history  of  this  doctrine. 

That  infants  at  death  are  glorified  has  always  been 
tiui  fiiith  of  those  denominations  of  Cliristians,  known 
by  the  a[)pellati()ns,  Presbyterians,  Dissenters,  or 
Calvinists,  in  every  age,  from  Apostolic  days  down  to 
the  present,  although  the  contrary  has  been  often 
asserted  by  the  ignorant  and  the  false. 

Thus,  for  example,  we  find  Yincentius  and  Victor, 
in  the  fourth  century  opposing  the  horrid  doctrines  of 
infjint  damnjttion,  introduced  by  Pi'ehi,tists,  who  advo- 
cated bai)ti,smMJ  i-(!gen(!r;i,tioti,  asK(!i'tiiig  that  in  order  to 
salvation,  all  inlanLs  must   Iw:   b.iptized.     So   also  John 


amijuiooi). 


58 


Wi(5l<li(T,  of  I<in,!j[I)i.n(l,  and  .Joliii  IIiish  of  Holi(Miii;i,  holli 
it)  [\\(\  fourldciilJi  (Mwil.iiry  :  h.Iho  Uk^  Iioll;i,i<ls,  Uicir  I'ol- 
lowoi'K,  who  HcpJiralcd  UicmMcd v(!H  ri<mi  I. lie  I'.ip.'icy,  niul 
siilT(!r(Ml  (l(»ji,(Jj  for  l.lio  (lo<!(  riuo  ;if(,(M'vvjir<lH  cjiUcmI  On.lviii- 
iH(,i(!.  I  H;i,y  \\\\  (.li(!Ho  of  wlioin  Mio  woild  wmm  iioI, 
woi'lliy,  Ji'l  voc.iicd  I. lid  ,s;i,l  v;iiioii  of  iiif;i,nl,M  \vli(>(li('<l  in 
iiifjuioy,  wIkiUkm*  l);i|>l  i/,'!(l  or  uoL 

So  ;i,lso  W(i  liiid  Ziiini'liiiM  (l('clu.riii;';,  Ui;i.l.  :ill  cliild  r<Mi 
wild  her  lli(>:'(i  of  (  JIii-JkI  i;i,ii  or  llcii.llicu  |»;i,r(wil.M,  Um(, 
did  Ix'foro  nctiiJil  oi"  known  Ir.'MiH^^n'cHHion,  iiro  s.ivcd. 
Soo  Ills  ('|)islJ(!H.  And,  \w  MnrcHiuH  nji.yH  on  l\\(s  woi-(Ih  of 
\\m  (-0x1,,  "  V\n-  of  ,-ncli  i,M  iJic  Kin'';doin  of  (Jod,"  "  If  all 
oliildrcn  :i,r(<  nol,  .savcMJ  who  dio  in  infjin(!y,  why  nw.  Mio 
woi'ds  of  l,h(<  (,rxl,  .'-'o  ;;('n(M';il  ntid  ind.'dnil.c  1"'  And 
();dvin  liirnMclf,  (iJion^di  lM;iJid('(|  hy  \\\{\  i<^norjuil.,  ji.m  I, ho 
invcnLor  Ji.nd  aJxtUor  of  infiinl.  (h'slriiolion,)  in  his  Innfi- 
liil;(5H  of  IJio  (/hiMHl  1)111  l{,(«li;^non,  hook  '1(,ii,  (di.'ipfor  lf», 
v\  hilo  h<^  lirnily  ni;ijnf:nnM  l,li:il.  .'dl  infiinfM  lU'o  involved 
in  fho  pcniill.y  dno  to  Adam'H  liid,  Hin,  hoin^'  onr  (m)V()- 
n;i.n(,  r<'|)i(!H(Mil.iil,ivo,  his  lirHli  n,(;l,  bfiin^  rcgurdiu]  \m  (he  jm-.I. 
of  ;iJ!  hi,s  riu!(i,  y(i(,  ni!iin(.!i,inH  (.hu(.  Ihcy  jire  hy  (JhriHl, 
I'cdffcnicd  from  (,ho  (ivil  coriHCMpninl,  npon  AdiinTH  nin, 
jijid  lli;i(,  I  hey  :i,i"o  HilH(;()pl,il)l(M)f  ro^^'ncrn,!  ion,  ;ind  con 
HCHpunifly  (d*  <!(,('rnM.I  iif(%  ivW  of  vvhi(di  wan  itnplKtd  in  his 
d()(;lar;iJjon  ''Hn(Tor  iillJo  (diildron  (.o  come  nnl.o  ine,  for 
of  HiKtli  iH  (,li(^  Kin«j;dorri  of  (Jod."  And  from  ('hrisl, 
f)l(>HHin^^  lil,(,l(M;hildr(!n,  il.  Ih  ohvions  (.Ini.l,  ho  inlcMidrd  lo 
hIiovv  Ihal,  l,h(!y  )i,ro  saved  l.hroii«.';h  llini. 

in  hJH  c.oininenlnry  on  the  words  of  onr  Loid  o<»n- 
(MM-nin;^^  chUdren,  "  for  of  suoh  is  l.lni  Kin^^doni  of  (Jod," 
wifhonl,  any  liniidil.ion  of  nl()anin;^^  or  heHi(ji,(,ion,  Ik- 
<h'(dji,i-eM  lJi;d,  (fod  ;idopl,H  inf.inl.M,  and  wjishes  (hem  in 
(,li(!  hlood  of  liiH  Son  (,li;i,l,  Miey  !ii-(!  i-e;^;i,rded  of  OhrisI, 
;i,s  iijnon;^^  Ili.s  j'cdeemefl.  (Se(5  lnH(-i(  nl.oH,  ho(d\  fonrfh, 
chap.   10,  Keel, ion  .'U.) 


54  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

Such  have  been  the  views  of  all  Oalvinists,  from  the 
days  of  Calvin,  both  on  the  eastern  and  western  conti- 
nent, the  names  of  whom  will  always  gild  the  page  of 
ecclesiastical  history,  a  few  of  whoso  names  it  may  not 
be  amiss  to  record.  Calvin,  Tyndale,  Scot,  Newton, 
Gill,  Pictet,  Whitfield,  Watts,  Hale,  Howe,  all  of  the 
old  world  ;  and  Mather  and  Junkin,  eminent  old- 
fashioned  Calvinists  of  the  new.  But  here  the  caviler 
may  be  ready  to  ask,  does  not  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  the  standard  ot  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
speak  only  of  elect  infants  being  regenerated,  and  saved 
by  Christ  through  the  Spirit  ?  (chap.  10,  sec.  3.)  This 
question  I  answer  by  asking  another.  Can  any  infant 
be  saved  that  is  not  elected  ?  If  they  have  fallen  in 
Adam,  (as  undoubtedly  **all  in  him  have  sinned,") 
then,  if  saved,  it  must  be  on  the  ground  that  God  has 
elected  them  to  salvation,  for  even  if  we  admit  that 
the  doctrine  of  meritorious  good  works  was  true  as  a 
ground  of  salvation,  (although  the  Bible  condemns  it,) 
still  they  could  not  be  saved  on  that  ground,  for  the  in- 
fant, before  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong  is  incapable  of 
accountable  moral  action.  (Rom.  5:  12.)  From  this 
reasoning,  then,  is  it  not  conclusive  that  infant  salvation 
can  be  supported  only  on  the  ground  of  their  election  ? 
The  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Sovereignty  does  not  militate 
against  infant  salvation,  for  while  it  attributes  to  Jeho- 
vah, all  power  and  right  over  his  creatures  to  dis^^ose  of 
them  ;  to  impart  or  withhold  His  favors  as  seemeth  to 
him  good  ;  may  He  not  give  His  special  favor  to  infants 
dying  in  infancy,  in  the  exercise  of  this  sovereignty,  as 
well  as  to  adults  ?  And  is  it  not  more  reasonable  that 
his  favor  would  be  conferred  on  them  rather  than  on 
adults,  seeing  they  have  never  knowingly  and  willfully 
offended  against  Him  as  adults  have  ?  And  would  not 
the  praise  of  his  glorious  grace,  be  as  much  exhibited  in 


CHILDHOOD.  55 

tlie  salvation  of  infants,  as  in  that  of  adults,  if  this  be 
the  great  object  of  redemption,  as  undoubtedly  it  is  ? 
(See  Eph.  1st  chap.  6th  verse  ;  also  3d  chapter  10th 
verse.)  And  is  not  the  infant  as  capable  of  regeneration 
as  the  adult  is  ?  Assuredly  it  is.  For  in  these  works  of 
grace,  while  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  they 
are  both  equally  passive.  Besides  this,  we  have  cases  on 
record  where  this  work  has  been  effected  by  the  spirit 
before  birth  ;  as,  for  instance,  the  prophet  Jeremiah, 
also  John  the  Baptist.  (See  Jer.  1st  chap.  5th  verse  ; 
also  Luke,  1st  chajD.  loth  verse.)  Now  with  these  in- 
stances before  us,  of  men  sanctified  from  the  womb  for 
a  special  work  on  earth,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  infer  that 
a  good  and  merciful  God  does  sanctify  through  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  all  infants  who  die  before  the  period  of 
accountability  ?  and  thus  qualify  them  for  the  glorious 
employ  of  the  youthful  cherubs  above. 

Thus,  afflicted  parents,  God  has  from  eternity  ap- 
pointed a  bound  to  your  little  one's  days  that  she  could 
not  pass.  Reflect,  that  sovereign,  electing  grace  has, 
from  all  eternity,  encircled  in  the  arms  of  unmerited 
compassion,  through  Jesus  Christ,  the  babe  and  suckling, 
so  as,  out  of  their  mouth  to  perfect  praise ; — then  your 
fears  are  at  once  appeased — then  your  sorrows,  bereaved 
parents,  are  at  once  turned  into  joy. 

But,  in  the  second  place,  we  will  speak  of  some  of 
the  probable  reasons  that  God  calls  children  home. 

And  first,  it  is  in  mercy  to  them.  Earth  at  its  best 
estate  is  vanity  ;  so  deceitful  and  disappointing  is  even 
the  friendship  of  bosom  friends  ;  so  alluring  are  the 
temptations  that  earth  and  sense  present,  that  here  we 
may  be  likened  to  the  tempest-tossed  mariner,  for  whom 
there  is  no  safety,  no  repose,  till  he  reaches  his  destined 
haven.  The  world  is  constantly  promising  in  the  pros- 
pect, great  happiness,  many  comforts ;  but  all  Jit  once 


56  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

they  vanish  or  are  blasted  by  an  unseen  hand.  But  the 
infant  dead  never  feels  those  pangs,  never  experiences 
those  spirit  chilling,  heart-crushing  sorrows.  It  peace- 
fully glides  from  the  arms  of  its  earthly  to  those  of  its 
heavenly  Father.  Suppose  the  little  one  who  is  now  gone, 
had  been  allowed  to  reach  mature  age,  become  entangled 
with  the  gayety  and  follies  of  this  world,  her  hopes  high- 
ly exalted,  but  through  the  snares  and  deceitfulness  of 
sin  and  of  sinners,  been  deceived,  disappointed  in  her 
expectations,  placed  in  circumstances  destructive  of  all 
peace  here,  and  well  adapted  to  ensure  her  misery  here- 
after. How  very  different  from  her  present  condition  ! 
Oh  !  what  a  contrast ! !     But  she  has  escaped  all  this  ! 

Rest,  on  the  bosom  of  thy  God;  young  spirit,  rest  thee  now — 
None  of  the  sorrows  here  portrayed,  shall  fall  upon  thy  browl 
The  vital  cup  in  part,  your  lips  had  quaffed, 
But,  with  it  sickened,  you  repelled  the  draught — 
Opposed;  then  turning  from  the  blaze  of  day, 
You  gently  breathed  your  infant  soul  away. 
Oil,  mourn  not  for  the  dead,  in  youth  who  pass  away, 
Ere  peace  and  joy  and  bliss  have  fled,  and  sin  has  brought  decay. 
Better  in  youth  to  die,  life  being  fair  and  bright, 
Than  when  the  soul  has  lost  its  truth,  in  age  and  sorrow's  night. 
Then  shed  not  the  tear  of  grief  upon  the  sable  bier, 
Her  wearied  spirit  finds  a  rest,  in  a  more  blissful  sphere. 

Bat  again,  children  are  called  away  out  of  mercy  and 
love  to  parents.  We  have  too  many  idols  in  this  world. 
If  God  loves  us,  he  must  take  them  out  of  our  way,  that 
we  may  be  led  to  worship  God,  and  not  idols.  We  are 
too  much  disposed  to  love  the  creature  more  than  the 
Creator.  Now,  to  wean  us  from  earth,  and  set  our  af- 
fections on. things  above,  to  have  the  world  painted  in 
its  true  colors  before  our  eyes,  and  be  brought,  like  Job, 
to  loathe  it,  exclaiming,  '^1  would  not  live  always,"  is  a 
very  important  desideratum — a  point  highly  desirable  to 


CHILDHOOD.  57 

gain,  so  as  we  may  be  turned  from  the  ways  of  sin  and 
death,  into  those  of  holiness  and  life. 

Think  not  of  your  child  as  dead,  but  think  of  it  as 
living ; — not  as  a  flower  withered,  to  bloom  no  more  ;  but 
as  one  transplanted  by  Jehovah's  hand  to  bloom  in  rich- 
er colors,  and  sweeter  shades  than  those  of  earth.  Bear 
in  mind  God  has  done  this,  who  does  all  things  best. 

"With  patient  mind  tliy  course  of  duty  run; 
God  nothing  does  nor  suffers  to  be  done 
But  thou  would'st  do  thyself,  if  thou  could'st  see 
The  end  of  all  He  does,  as  well  as  He. 

May  the  Lord,  of  his  infinite  mercy,  make  this  dis- 
pensation the  means  of  a  present  and  eternal  blessing  to 
your  souls,  through  Jesus  Christ  His  Son.     Amen. 


PIETY  IN  CHILDHOOD. 

EEV.  ROBEET  WYE  BETTS. 

ON  THE  UNTIMELY  DEATH  OF  E.  T.  D.,  AGED  13  YEARS,  SON  OF  THE  REV. 

S,  A.  DATIES, 

KILLED  AT  THE  NEW  CROSS  RAILWAY  STATION,  ENGLAND, 

*'Because  in  Mm  was  found  some  good  thing  toward  tJie  Lord  God  of 

Israel" — 1  Kings  xiv  :  13. 

'*  First  the  blade."— Mauk  iv  :  28. 

A  LTHOUGH  the  dealings  of  God  with  the  children 
■^^  of  men,  and  the  course  and  dispensations  of 
Divine  Providence  are,  to  a  great  extent,  enveloped  in 
mystery  and  in  gloom,  occasional  gleams  of  light  break 
through  the  darkness— gleams  of  celestial  light  whereby 
the  dark  enshrouding  shadow-casting  clouds  are  dis- 
]iorsed — gleams  of  celestial  light  whereby  we  arc  able  to 
iee  that  the  whole  is  ordered  in  infinite  wisdom  and 
3* 


58  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

love.  That  God  ^'  doetli  all  things  well,"  and  overrules 
whatever  occurs  to  us  as  individuals,  families,  or 
nations,  for  the  best,  are  truths  which  are  frequently, 
forcibly,  and  fully  affirmed  in  His  Holy  Word.  But 
when  events  that  are  of  a  peculiarly  distressing  and 
afflictive  character  take  place,  our  faith  is  apt  to  waver. 
We  cling  to  the  general  idea  ;  but  in  relation  to  the 
particular  circumstance  that  presses  so  heavily,  and 
makes  the  individual  heart  bleed,  we  are  at  a  loss  to 
perceive  how  that  cdn  be  comprehended  in  any  benefi- 
cent arrangement,  and  are  prone  to  think  that  that 
might  have  been  spared.  The  trial  of  faith  is  un- 
doubtedly on  this  point,  when  the  keenest  sensibilities 
of  our  nature  are  touched  ;  when  the  dearest  objects  of 
our  affection  are  smitten  ;  when  the  most  treasured 
blessings  of  our  heart  are  violently  wrested  from  us. 
Yet,  even  in  such  circumstances,  faith  is  not  altogether 
without  its  relief  and  its  rescue  ;  for  sometimes,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  strong  and  general  assurance  of  His  word, 
our  Heavenly  Father  lifts  a  portion  of  the  veil  from  the 
dark  dispensations  of  His  Providence ;  gives  us  a 
glimpse  of  the  reason  why  He  permitted  the  sorrow,  the 
woe,  the  bereavement  to  come  ;  enables  us  to  hear  His 
voice  above  the  roar  of  the  surging  waves  and  the  rush 
of  the  tempestuous  wind,  as  the  Disciples  heard  the  voice 
of  Jesus  when  their  hearts  were  failing  them  for  fear 
upon  the  storm-tossed  lake  of  G-alilee.  *^It  is  I.  Be 
not  afraid." 

Death.  The  death  of  children  is  one  of  the  gloom- 
iest, darkest,  and,  in  the  world's  opinion,  one  of  the 
most  mysterious  and  unnatural  dispensations  of  Divine 
Providence.  Philosophy  is  startled  at  the  idea  of  a  little 
one  cut  down  just  as  the  buds  and  blossoms  of  its  life 
nre  becoming  developed.  And  infidelity,  emboldened 
by  such  an  eventj  ventures  on  the  assertion  that  tiiere  is 


CHILDHOOD.  59 

no  Providence  but  the  chapter  of  accidents,  and  no 
other  God  in  the  world  but  chance. 

A  little  deeper  attention  to  the  matter,  a  closer  and 
more  prayerful  investigation  of  the  Book  of  God,  will, 
perhaps,  lead  to  the  throwing  of  more  light  upon  this 
subject  than  it  is  generally  supposed  to  have.  Let  what- 
ever will  betide,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  affirming,  not 
only  on  the  ground  of  my  Scriptural  beliefs,  but  on  the 
ground  also  of  the  coincident  testimony  of  exj^erience 
and  observation,  the  stern  logic  of  facts,  and  the  world's 
past  history,  that  the  '^  Judge  of  all  the  earth"  must 
do  right.  If  '^  Light  is  sown  for  the  righteous,"  it  is 
the  condition  of  the  sowing  that  the  light  be  buried 
beneath  the  soil,  its  elements,  its  germs,  its  seed-form, 
be  laid  in  darkness  and  in  death.  *'  That  which  thou 
sowest  is  not  quickened,  except  it  die." 

These  are  general  j)rinciples — confessedly  difficult  at 
times  of  individual  application,  and  not  always  to  be 
perceived  or  understood  in  relation  to  the  particular 
event  which  is  at  this  or  that  particular  moment  of  our 
history  our  particular  trial.  But,  then  the  Bible  does 
not  shut  us  up  to  general  principles.  It  gives  us  a 
number  of  instances  of  their  particular  application,  in 
the  Biographies  and  Histories  embalmed  in  its  inspired 
record.  The  Biographies  of  the  Bible  are  not  mere 
biographies  written  with  no  higher  aim  than  that  of 
making  us  acquainted  with  the  men  of  the  past.  Tlie 
Histories  of  the  Bible  are  not  mere  histories  narrated  for 
no  other  purpose  than  that  of  describing  the  onward 
progress  of  events,  until  the  arrival  of  the  "fulness  of 
time,"  and  the  advent  of  the  promised  Messiah.  They 
are  biographies  and  histories  rich  with  illustrations  of 
the  principles  by  which  God's  procedure  is  governed  ; 
fruitful  with  lessons  of  heavenly  wisdom,  in  relation  to 
the  reasons  of  manv  of  his  dealings  with  the  children  of 


60  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

men.  They  are  a  mine  of  spiritual  wealth,  from  which 
the  earnest  and  devout  workman  may  procure  gems  of 
inestimable  worth — a  firmament  of  spiritual  stars,  from 
which  illuminating  beams  stream  down  on  many  things 
which  we  deem  dark,  mysterious,  inexplicable.  Inter- 
preted by  the  histories  and  biographies  of  the  Bible,  the 
woes,  the  sorrows,  the  bereavements  of  life,  are  not  so 
dark,  mysterious,  inexplicable,  as  we  had  supposed  them 
to  be. 

Very  sad,  mournful,  distressing,  is  the  Providence 
which  has  furnished  me  with  a  special  topic  of  discourse 
this  evening.  The  youngest  son  of  our  dear  friend,  the 
Rev.  S.  A.  Davies,  a  beautiful  child  of  thirteen  years  of 
age — beautiful  not  only  for  the  bright  intelligence  of  his 
countenance,  but  beautiful  for  his  spirit — beautiful  for 
his  early  piety,  some  ten  days  ago  fell  from  the  platform 
of  the  New  Cross  Railway  Station,  and  was  instantly 
crushed  to  death  beneath  the  wheels  of  the  train  for 
which  he  was  waiting,  in  company  with  his  brother,  to 
go  to  the  Crystal  Palace. 

We  ask,  why  was  one  so  young,  so  full  of  promise,  so- 
gentle,  and  so  good — such  a  treasure  at  home,  and  such 
a  pattern  at  school,  so  suddenly  snatched  away — so 
early  called  ?  Indeed,  I  cannot  tell  all  the  reasons  for 
his  premature  death,  any  more  than  I  can  tell  all  the 
reasons  why  so  many  of  the  beautiful  buds  and  blossoms 
of  the  early  spring  time  are  permitted  to  be  nipped  by  the 
frost  and  perish,  any  more  than  I  can  tell  all  the  reasons 
why  such  men  as  Josiah,  the  pious  King  of  Israel, 
and  Prince  Albert,  the  noble  husband  of  our 
beloved  Queen,  should  be  cut  down  in  the  very  prime 
and  flower  of  life,  just  when,  according  to  our  poor 
judgments,  they  could  least  be  spared;  and  at  the  time 
when  their  influence  for  good  had  reached  its  power  and 
its  ^.enith-     3nt  I  do  not  think  it  is  totally  inexplicable, 


VBtLDMOOD.  61 

or  that  we  must  leave  it  altogether  shrouded  in  distress- 
ing mystery.  There  is  a  narrative  in  Scripture  which 
sheds  light  upon  it.  We  may  interpret  it  by  the  death 
of  the  youthful  Abijah,  the  son  of  Jeroboam,  and  the 
reason  assigned  for  his  premature  decease.  "  Because 
in  him  was  found  some  good  thing  toward  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel.'' 

Abijah  was  taken  from  the  evil  to  come.  Woes  and 
judgments  hung  over  the  house  of  Jeroboam.  But,  be- 
fore their  thunderbolts  fell,  God  put  forth  His  hand  and 
took  this  pious  youth  to  a  place  of  safety.  *^  Death  came 
to  him  as  a  reward,  a  blessing,  and  a  deliverance."  God 
spared  him  the  sorrow  of  witnessing  his  father's  un- 
happy end.  Delivered  him  from  the  evils  by  which  his 
father's  wicked  conduct  would  have  surrounded  him,  on 
his  ascension  to  the  throne,  by  shortening  his  earthly 
existence.  God  loved  him,  and  therefore  so  early  called 
him  home. 

Of  course  the  only  parallel  circumstance  between  the 
early  death  of  Abijah  and  the  early  death  of  that  little 
youth  whose  untimely  end  we  now  deplore  is  the  fact  of 
their  early  piety.  But  the  reason  given  for  Abijah's 
early  death — '^Because  in  him  was  found  some  good 
thing  towards  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,"  sheds  like  a  star 
its  bright  and  beautiful  and  peaceful  light  upon  what 
would  else  be  in  the  case  of  Edward  Thomas  Davies  a 
Providence  dark  as  midnight.  God  loved  him,  and 
therefore  so  early  called  him  home. 

Alas  !  How  often  we  are  mistaken  in  our  interpreta- 
tion of  God's  providential  dealings.  We  are  prone  to  think 
He  is  acting  harshly,  when,  in  fact.  He  is  acting  most 
tenderly,  kindly,  and  wisely.  We  see  only  parts  of  His 
ways.  Bat  were  we  in  a  position  to  understand  the 
whole — were  the  reason  always  disclosed  to  us  as  it  is  in 
lelation  to  Abijah's  premature  dcccise — there  would  not 


62  Memorial    trfbutes. 

be  a  moment's  hesitation  about  our  cordial  acquiescence 
in  ail  His  movements,  or  of  our  acceptance  of  the  most 
afflictive  dcpensations  of  His  Providence  as  freighted 
with  mercy  and  laden  with  the  highest  good.  The 
heavenly  husbandman  gathers  for  the  heavenly  garner 
the  fruit  that  is  earliest  ripe.  He  takes  his  best  beloved 
away  from  the  evil  to  come.  Upon  the  tomb-stone  of 
this  little  one  God  has  himself  written  the  epitaph, 
^'Because  in  him  was  found  some  good  thing  toward  the 
Lord  of  Israel." 

It  will  be  seasonable  to  embrace  the  ojrtportunity 
given  by  the  premature  death  of  this  dear  boy — whom  I 
believe  to  have  been,  in  the  true,  full  sense  of  the  phrase, 
^'  a  child  of  God  and  an  inheriter  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven" — to  make  a  few  observations  upon  Piety  in 
Childhood. 

What  are  the  characteristics  and  features  of  piety  in 
childhood  ?  what  is  the  form  in  which  we  are  to  look  for 
it  ?  what  the  symptoms,  the  features,  by  which  we  may 
recognize  its  existence  ? 

^' First  the  blade." 

I.  Can  piety  exist  in  Childhood?  Most  certainly  it 
can.  There  is  nothing  in  the  dispensation  of  mercy — 
nothing  in  the  general  attributes  of  religion,  that  limits 
piety  to  any  particular  age. 

The  Atonement  is  full  and  sufficient  for  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world,  without  limitation  of  country,  age,  or 
condition;  so  that,  on  the  ground  of  the  Atonement,  is 
the  fact  of  Atonement,  whosoever  cometh  to  God,  be  he 
young  or  old,  child  or  adult,  '^  shall  in  no  wise  be  cast 
out." 

The  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  the  great  agent  in  the  effect- 
ual working  of  the  Christian  Dispensation,  is  boundless 
in  compassion,  infinite  in  grace,  alive  with  tenderness, 
so  that  the  smoking  flax  can  bear  his  breath  and  not  be 


csiLDSooD.  es 

quenched — the  bruised  reed  receive  his  influence  and  not 
be  broken^the  child's  heart  receive  his  grace  and  not 
be  crushed  with  its  "far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory." 

The  Seed  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  the  seed 
of  the  mustard-tree — small,  the  smallest,  of  all  seeds — 
suitable,  therefore,  for  implantation  in  the  soul  of  the 
youngest  child.  There  is  nothing  in  itself,  nothing  in 
its  own  nature^  to  prevent  its  being  sown  with  the  very 
earliest  dawn  of  reason  and  receptivity. 

The  Gospel  is  the  instrumentality  by  which  souls  are 
saved.  The  Gospel  possesses  such  an  inherent  power  of 
adaptation^  that  it  is  *^ strong  meat  for  men  "  and  "milk 
for  babes  "—an  ocean  in  which  the  leviathan  can  play, 
and  a  softly- flowing  brook  at  which  the  timid  lamb  may 
drink — a  river  whose  waters  in  some  parts  rise  no  higher 
than  the  ankles,  but  in  others  so  deep  that  no  plum-line 
can  sound  its  awful  depths  and  fathomless  mysteries. 

According  to  the  arrangements  of  human  law  and 
social  life,  there  is  a  minority  during  which  the  child  or 
youth  is  incapable  of  performing  certain  functions,  and 
incapable  of  taking  upon  himself  certain  responsibilities. 
Though  he  may  be  the  heir,  yet,  until  he  has  attained 
his  majority,  he  is  "  under  tutors  and  governors" — can- 
not administer  his  own  affairs,  manage  his  own  estate, 
or  be  legally  liable  for  any  debts  he  may  contract.  But 
in  religion  the  only  minority  is  that  which  exists  before 
reason  and  conscience  are  at  all  developed.  The  spirit- 
ual faculties  of  the  child  are  equal  in  number  to  the 
spiritual  faculties  of  theadult;  they  only  lack  their  manly 
vigor.  Instead  of  being  the  worse,  they  are,  in  some 
respects,  the  better  for  this.  For  their  manly  vigor  is 
oftentimes  associated  with  a  guilty  experience;  and  the 
conscience,  in  early  life,  so  tender  and  shrinking  from 
what  is  Avrong,  so  wise  to  wliat  is  good,   and  so   sim])le 


G4  MEMO  niA  L     TRTB  VTE8. 

concerning  evil,  has  often  times,  in  later  years,  had  a 
grievous  moral  injury  done  it,  by  a  course  of  willful  and 
persistent  sin. 

The  yet  incomplete  development,  therefore,  of  the 
faculties,  is  no  hindrance  to  personal  religion;  because 
it  is  to  the  affections  of  the  heart  that  piety  makes  its 
appeal.  And  when  favored  with  religious  advantages, 
when  nurtured  in  the  admonition  and  fear  of  the  Lord, 
the  early  childhood  years  of  life  are  the  most  hopeful, 
the  most  favorable  years  for  the  implantation  of  the 
seeds  of  grace,  and  for  the  direction  of  mind,  ere  it  is 
immersed  in  the  thousand  cares  of  the  world,  to  the 
pursuit  and  the  possession  of  the  '^one  thing  needful." 

Children  piously  taught  and  trained  in  the  fear  of 
the  Lord  have,  I  believe,  religious  impressions  much 
earlier  than  parents  and  teachers  in  general  seem  to  look 
for  them,  or  think  they  can  exist.  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  saying,  that  the  work  of  grace  has  often  commenced, 
and  made  considerable  progress,  when,  to  our  poor  im- 
perfect sight  and  blindness  of  spiritual  perception,  there 
does  not  appear  to  be  anything  more  than  thd  outwork- 
ings  of  the  natural  temperament. 

There  is,  indeed,  amongst  children,  that  great  imped- 
iment to  religion — constitutional  depravity — the  natural 
corruption  of  the  human  heart.  But  this  belongs  to 
human  nature  in  every  stage  of  its  being,  and  is  not, 
cannot  be,  so  strong  in  early  life  as  it  is  subsequently, 
when  years  of  sinfulness  have  added  to  its  force,  and 
actual  transgression  has  piled  it  up  a  higher  mountain 
of  separation. 

Li  childhood,  the  soil  of  the  heart  is  not  so  pre- 
occupied, so  extensively  pre-occupied,  as  it  is  in  maturer 
years.  The  ill  weeds  of  evil,  instead  of  being  full-grown, 
exist  only  in  their  incipient  and  germ  forms. 

To  childhood,  the  gate  of  heaven  is  not  so  strait  as  it 


CmLDHOOD,  66 

becomes  in  after  years.     A  child  can  easier  pass  through 
it  tlian  a  man. 

If  you  want  to  have  plain  and  positive  proof  that 
piety  can  exist  in  cliildhood,  you  have  only  to  search 
the  annals  of  the  Church,  in  order  to  discover,  from  the 
beginning  until  now,  a  continuous  line  of  the  brightest 
examples  of  early  piety.  God,  by  His  Holy  Spirit,  fre- 
quently begins  to  work  very  early  in  the  mind — children 
of  very  tender  years  are  frequently  the  subjects  of  His 
saving  grace.  Boys  and  girls  are  not  too  young  to  serve 
the  Lord,  or  love  the  Saviour.  To  many  young  im- 
mortals, like  Samuel,  Josiah,  and  Timothy,  God  has  re- 
vealed the  things  of  His  kingdom,  while  He  has  hidden 
them  from  the  wise  and  prudent.  There  are  lambs  in 
the  Saviour's  fold  ;  and  though  the  Church  often  hesi- 
tates and  fears  to  receive  them  into  its  fellowship,  the 
Kedeemer  receives  them,  folds  them  in  His  arms,  and* 
carries  them  in  His  bosom.  Nearly  three  years  ago 
there  was  a  little  child,  the  infant  daughter  of  one  of 
the  members  of  this  church,  who  died  ;  she  was  not 
quite  five  years  old.  A  little  while  before  her  spirit  left 
its  little  suffering  mortal  frame-work,  it  seemed  as 
though  the  Holy  Spirit  imparted  to  her  the  fact  that 
she  was  about  to  die.  Calling  her  father  to  her  side  she 
said,  '*  Father,  I'm  going  to  be  dead  ;"  and  as  he,  with 
tearful  eyes  and  heart  full  of  grief,  looked  on,  her  little 
voice  was  again  heard,  *' Father,  open  the  door,  and  lei 
Jesus  in."  Then  after  giving  directions  respecting  the 
disposal  of  her  books  and  toys,  the  vision  of  glory  ap- 
peared to  break  upon  her  sight,  even  as  heaven  opened 
before  the  eyes  of  the  martyred  Stephen,  she  said, 
''  Father,  I  can  see  Jesus."  A  few  moments  afterwards 
she  closed  her  eyes  and  died,  her  spirit  taking  its  place 
before  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven,  around  which 
*•  thousands  of  children  stand — children  whose  sins  are 


66  MEMORIAL      TJUBUTES. 

all  forgiven — a  holy,  happy  band — singing  Glory,  glory, 
glory!"  Piety  can  exist  in  Childhood.  And,  surely, 
this  little  one  who  said,  ^'  Father,  I'm  going  to  be  dead;" 
*'Open  the  door  and  let  Jesus  in  ;"  *'I  can  see  Jesus," 
was  one  of  the  lambs  of  the  Saviour's  fold.  These  are 
His  blessed  encouraging  words,  '^  I  love  them  that  love 
Me,  and  they  that  seek  Me  early  shall  find  Me." 

The  "blade"  is  as  much  His  production,  as  "the 
full  corn  in  the  ear."  In  fact.  His  compassionate  regard 
is  as  much,  perhaps  more,  shown  to  the  former  than  to 
the  latter ;  for  while  He  sends  His  sun  to  ripen  the  ear. 
He  protects  the  tender  blade  from  the  nipping,  biting, 
killing  frost,  by  covering  it  with  a  carpet  of  snow. 

Piety  can  exist  in  Childhood.  "  Suffer,"  said  the 
Saviour,  when  His  disciples  were  endeavoring  to  send 
the  little  ones  away,  and,  with  rude  rebuffs,  bidding 
the  mothers  not  trouble  the  Master,  "the  little  children 
to  come  unto  Me  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven." 

And  when  the  disciples  were  disputing  about  who 
should  be  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  He  took  a 
little  child  and  set  him  in  the  midst,  and,  after  telling 
them  that  he  would  be  greatest  who  nearest  approxi- 
mated to  the  guileless  spirit,  meekness,  and  docility  of 
that  little  child.  He  warned  them,  "Take  heed  that  ye 
despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones  who  believe  in  Me, 
for  I  say  unto  you,  that  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always 
behold  the  face  of  my  Father,  who  is  in  heaven."  It  is 
"out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings"  that  God 
"perfects  praise."  One  of  his  blessed  promises,  re- 
lating to  Gospel  times,  is,  "I  will  pour  My  spirit 
upon  thy  seed,  and  my  blessing  upon  thy  offspring ;" 
a  promise  which  is  necessarily  vague,  which  is  stript  of 
the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  its  meaning,  if  piety  cannot 
exist  in  childhood. 


GHILDUOOD.  dl 

il.  What  are  the  characteristics  of  Piety  in  Childhood? 

What  is  the  form  in  which  we  are  to  look  for  it  ?  What 
the  symptoms,  the  features,  by  which  we  may  recognize 
its  existence  ? 

"  First,  the  blade." 

Now  in  looking  for  the  features  and  characteristics 
of  piety  in  childhood,  you  must,  of  course,  have  an  eye 
to  the  moral  fitness  and  order  of  things.  You  would 
never  think  of  looking  for  the  ''full  corn  in  the  ear," 
in  the  early  spring  time  ;  for  the  fruit  of  the  apple  tree, 
while  the  apple  tree  is  clothed  with  its  beautiful  blos- 
soms ;  for  the  sagacity  and  ability  of  manhood,  in  a  boy 
at  school.  So,  in  your  search  for  the  lineaments^  of 
youthful  piety,  you  must  not  expect  to  find  theological 
knowledge,  mature  experience,  keen  doctrinal  precep- 
tions,  a  full  systematic  creed,  or  anything  of  that  sort. 
These  things  are  the  aftergrowth.  It  would  be  most 
unnatural  were  they  to  exist.  As  unnatural  as  it  would 
be  to  find  the  ''ear"  of  corn,  formed  and  developed, 
when  the  "  blade"  is  just  shooting  its  tiny  spire  through 
the  earth's  crust.  Religion  is  a  life.  Piety  is  a  growth  ; 
its  beginning  is  small.  In  its  early  stages,  in  the  youth- 
ful mind,  it  is  mainly  a  thing  of  feeling,  affection.  The 
heart  is  touched  by  the  sweet  and  tragic  story  of  the 
Cross.  The  mind  is  moved  by  the  impulse  of  devotion  ; 
simple,  confiding  trust  in  God  is  awakened,  and  the  re- 
ligion comes  out  not  in  the  form  and  phraseology  of  theo- 
logic  schools  ;  not  in  the  lines  and  furrows  of  old  age, 
but  in  the  spirit  of  a  little  loving  life,  which  loves  Jesus 
because  He  left  His  throne  in  glory  to  die  for  sinners, 
and  to  re-open  the  closed  gate  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ; 
in  the  spirit  of  a  little  loving  life,  which  shrinks  from 
evil,  falsehood,  deceit,  and  cruelty,  for  reasons  which  it 
cannot  fully  define,  or  decipher  to  itself ;  in  the  spirit 
of  a  little  loving  life,   which   bends  the   knee  in  such 


68  MEMORIAL      TRiBUTm. 

beautiful   simplicity   and   earnestness   of    prayer,    that 
angels  stoj^  to  listen  to  its  confiding  uttterances. 

What  are  the  natural  characteristics  of  Childhood  ? 
I  mean  the  characteristics  which  distinguish  a  child  in 
relation  to  his  parents.  Are  they  not  such  as  these  ? 
Dependence,  Faith,  Obedience,  Docility,  Love.  Now, 
transfer  these  characteristics  from  their  earthly  to  their 
heavenly  sphere  ;  transfer  them  in  heightened  form  and 
power,  from  the  human  to  the  Heavenly  Father,  and 
you  have  at  once,  in  their  incipient  form,  the  true  fea- 
tures of  youthful  piety.  Piety  in  childhood  manifests 
itself  in  an  unbounded  confidence  in  the  Heavenly 
Father's  love  and  power.  In  the  main,  in  a  positive 
remembrance  of,  and  obedience  to,  the  Heavenly  Father's 
precepts,  but  occasionally  a  wayw^ard  and  strange  forget- 
fulness  of  them.  In  the  simple  receptivity  (unclouded 
by  any  dark  doubts  or  difiBculties)  with  which  it  hears 
and  receives  the  Heavenly  Father's  words.  In  the  frank 
and  artless  way  in  which  its  affections  flew  out  and  up- 
ward to  the  great  God  who  made  heaven  and  earth,  and 
to  the  Saviour  who  died  that  we  might  be  washed  and 
forgiven.  There  is  perfect  naturalness,  perfect  simpli- 
city, in  the  form  of  childhood's  piety  ;  unsuspicious, 
devout,  anxious  to  please,  vivid  in  its  recognitions  and 
beliefs  ;  not  yet  realizing  the  strange  and  sorrowful 
vicissitudes  of  the  Christian  life,  "Full  of  spiritual 
simplicity,  and  artless  love,  and  frank  confidence,  and 
enthusiastic  hope,  and  fervent  gratitude,  and  uncalculat- 
ing  self-denial,"  it  unfolds  itself  just  as  you  might  expect 
a  life  infused  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  unfold  ;  not  in  the 
technicology  of  doctrinal  distinctions  ;  not  in  the  prim- 
ness of  Pharisaic  form ;  not  in  agonies  of  spiritual  dis- 
tress, such  as  the  wild  olive  tree  suffers,  when  it  is  cut 
for  the  purpose  of  having  a  graft  from  the  tree  of  life 
inserted  into   it;  but  in  the  gentle,  beautiful  manner  of 


CHILDHOOD.  69 

the  '*  blade,"  which  rises  imperceptibly  from  the  earth's 
dark  soil,  and  then  as  beautifully,  and  as  gradually, 
progresses  toward  maturity,  producing,  in  natural  order, 
''first,  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  and  afterward  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear." 

It  has  been  my  privilege  during  my  ministerial  life 
to  receive  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  a  large 
number  of  young  Christians.  I  am  sure  I  am  correct  in 
saying  that  by  far  the  larger  number  of  those  who  have 
been  thus  admitted  into  communion  in  early  life  have 
been  the  cliildren  of  pious  parents  of  many  prayers — 
wdio  have  received  a  godly  and  pious  training.  Their 
almost  invariable  testimony  has  been  that  their  religion 
has  been  a  growth — not  resulting  from  any  sudden  im- 
pulse, but  coming  out  as  a  life  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
has  imparted,  shooting  up  like  the  *' blade"  of  wheat, 
almost  invisibly  in  its  beginnings,  but  showing  itself  to 
be  a  genuine  plant  of  grace  by  its  structure  and  by  its 
growth  ;  while  in  relation  to  very  many  of  whom  I 
speak  I  have  no  sort  of  doubt  but  that  for  many  years 
before  they  came  to  me,  though  perhaps  parents  and 
friends  knew  it  not,  they  were  safely  enfolded  within  the 
precincts  of  the  Saviour's  kingdom.  "Of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven."     ''  First  the  blade." 

Of  Piety  in  Childhood,  m  its  "blade"  form,  the 
dear  boy  (who  has  so  suddenly,  and  under  such  painfully 
distressing  circumstances,  been  taken  from  us)  was  a 
striking  illustration. 

Beyond  the  *' blade"  form  the  piety  of  little  E.  T.  D. 
was  not  suffered  to  have  any  development  in  this 
world.  Its  development — full  maturity — however,  has 
been  reached  earlier  than  it  could  possibly  have  been  in 
this  world.  By  a  process  which  nature  knows  nothing 
of,  but  which  is  common  in  the  realms  of  grace,  that 
little  child^  bearing  on  earth  the  incipient  'Mmagu  of 


70  MEMOPdAL      TRIBUTES. 

the  lieavenly,"  has  now  taken  on  its  perfect  likeness. 
"The  blade,"  brought  to  perfection  in  the  instant  of  its 
death  transition,  is  now  safely  deposited  in  the  heavenly 
garner. 

Parents  and  Teachers, — Watch  for  the  springing  of 
the  "blade"  of  piety  in  the  hearts  of  the  children  com- 
mitted to  your  charge.  Do  not  overlook  it.  Take  care 
lest  you  trample  upon  it.  At  its  first  appearance  it  will 
be  very  tender  and  very  small.  And  when  you  discover 
it,  foster  it,  nurture  it  with  kindly  influences.  Water  it 
with  the  tears  of  prayer  and  thankful  joy.  Pray  for  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness  to  shine  upon  it  with  his  fruit 
producing  beams.  Don't  talk  to  your  children  about 
religion  as  a  thing  to  be  possessed  in  the  future,  and  say 
that  you  hope  that  some  day  they  will  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  It  may  be  that  the  good  seed  of  the 
kingdom  has  already  taken  root — that  tlie  love  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  already  begotten.  By  such  remarks 
about  a  future  piety  you  may  stop  the  growth  of  the 
piety  that  already  exists.  God  sometimes  begins  His 
work  very  early.  Then  recognize  piety  in  its  first 
development,  and  the  love  of  Cod  in  its  most  incipient 
forms. 

Children  and  Young  People!  Is  the  "blade"  of 
piety  springing  up  in  your  hearts  ?  Think  what  a  bar- 
ren and  desolate  heart  yours  must  be  if  it  has  not  the 
"blade"  of  piety  growing  in  it,  and  what  a  wretched, 
awful  thing  it  would  be  for  you  to  have  your  life  pre- 
maturely cut  short  as  that  dear  little  fellow's  was  of 
whom  I  Jiave  been  speaking.  Instead  of  being  gathered 
into  the  heavenly  garner,  you  would  have  been  cast  out. 
Instead  of  there  being  "hope  in  your  death,"  your 
friends  and  relatives  would  have  been  deprived  of  the 
strong  and  sweet  consolation  which  tlie  friends  of 
Edward  Thomas  Ptivies  have,  notwithstanding  his  UU' 


CHILDHOOD.  Tl 

timely  end.     It  is  a  sad  thing  to  be  without  piety  toward 
God,  for  piety  toward  God  is  the  first  and  foremost  duty 
of  life.     All  the  ways  of  the  world,  though  they  seem  so 
sunny  and  pleasant,  are  ''vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit." 
They  lead  down  to   the  chambers  of  death.     Only  the 
paths  of  religion  are  pleasantness  and  peace.     If  there  is 
not  '-'first  the  blade,"  there  can  never  be  "the  full  corn 
in  the  ear."     There  will  never  be  a  season  again  so  favor- 
able as  the  present  for  you  to   receive  into  your  hearts 
the  good  seed  of   the  kingdom,  for   as  you  grow  older 
"the  cares  of  the  world,  the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  and 
the   lust   of    other   things,    Avill    choke    the    word,  and 
render  it  unfruitful."     "Remember  now  your  Creator 
in  the  days  of  your  youth."     Give  your  hearts  to  him  at 
once.     From  thi«  time  cry  unto  him,  "My  Father,  thou 
Shalt  be  the  guide  of  my  youth."     And  then,  whatever 
evil   days  may   come— whether   an  early  tomb  or  pro- 
tracted years  be  your  lot— all  will  be  well.     For  if,  on 
the  one  hand,  you  come  to  an  early  grave,  you  will  the 
sooner  reach  the  mansions- of  everlasting  Joy  ;  or  if,  on 
the  other,  you  are  permitted  to  attain  a  good  old  age  in 
this  world,  your  life  will  be  a  walk  with  God  under  the 
guidance   and  fear  of   His  love  ;  and  when  Death,  the 
Great  Reaper,  shall  at  length  come,  it  will  be  to  gather 
you,  as  a  shock  of  corn  fully   ripe,  into  the  Heavenly 
Garner.     Come,    and,   kneeling   before   your   Heavenly 
Father's  footstool,  "  join  yourself  to  Him  in  a  perpetual 
covenant  that  shall  never  be  forgotten." 

♦ 

The  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall 
feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of 
waters  :  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  then- 
eyes. 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES. 


TOTJTH. 


SUNSET  AT  NOON. 

REV.  W.  EODWELL. 
Her  sun  is  gone  down  wMle  it  was  yet  day. — Jer.  15:  9. 
TXTHATEVER  may  be  the  literal  meaning  of  these 
^^  words  they  suggest  a  departure  in  mid-life. 
Wherever  we  go,  over  land  or  sea,  death's  ravages  are 
seen,  and  at  whatever  season  of  the  year  or  hour  of  the 
day  we  visit  the  abodes  of  men  death  has  preceded  us. 
It  has  its  types  in  fading  flower,  in  withering  grass,  in 
falling  leaf  and  setting  sun. 

The  sun  going  down  at  noon  is  very  suggestive  of 
the  unexpectedness  of  death  in  the  meridian  of  life,  and 
yet 

I.  The  sun  goes  down  by  the  appointment  of  God. 
"  He  maketh  night  and  day,"  and  ruleth  the  heavens. 
Joshua  and  Hezekiah  alone  have  interfered  with  the 
sun's  course  during  a  period  of  nearly  6,000  years. 
To  God  belong  the  issues  of  even  death.  He  never  visits 
without  the  Divine  appointment. 

II.  The  sun  goes  4own  for  tliQ  beiiefit  of  the  humaii 

m 


YOUTH,  73 

race,  that  man  may  retire  and  rest  and  recruit  his  wasted 
powers,  that  other  portions  of  the  human  family  may 
obtain  light  and  heat,  and  that  man's  fund  of  knowledge 
may  be  increased.  For  darkness  shows  us  worlds  by  night 
we  never  saw  by  day. 

So  death  works  for  the  world's  good,  restrains  wick- 
edness, solemnises  thoughtless  ones,  through  tears  and 
bereavements  sliadows  earth,  attracts  to  heaven  and  re- 
veals wondrous  things  to  the  dead. 

III.  The  sun  often  goes  down  too  soon  for  us.  Work 
unfinished,  Jos]iua,Hezekiah,  David,  ^'  Spare  me,"  Vol- 
taire, Elizabeth.  In  spite  of  life's  trials  and  sorrow,  we 
cling  to  it ;  even  Moses  desired  to  live  longer  that  he 
might  enjoy  more  of  the  beauties,  but  his  sun  went 
down  on  this  side  of  Jordan. 

IV.  The  sun  has  his  natural  time  for  setting.  This 
setting  is  expected  and  prepared  for  by  man  :  to  set  be- 
fore would  be  startling,  perplexing,  phenomenal.  So 
with  human  life.  Every  one  expects  the  accustomed 
length  of  days — three  score  or  four  score — to  be  cut  off 
before  or  in  mid-life  seems  unnatural,  abnormal  and 
mysterious. 

V.  The  sun  goes  down  to  rise  again.  In  a  brief  in- 
terval he  appears  again,  climbing  the  heavens  in  majesty 
and  strength.  So  Avith  the  departed  dead.  Those  in 
Christ  will  appear  again  in  golden  splendor.  Those  out 
of  Christ  amid  the  lurid  flames  of  the  lost.  A  time  will 
come  when  this  orb  of  day  will  go  down,  never  more  to 
rise,  but  the  godly  shall  live  on,  ^'unhurt,"  where  the 
*^sun  shall  no  more  go  down." 

VI.  Let  us  be  cheered  by  this  light  of  revelation.  God 
is  the  Father  of  Lights,  does  all  things  well,  and  whether 
the  sun  of  our  loved  ones  depart  in  the  morning,  at 
mid-day,  or  in  the  evening,  it  will  have  a  glorious  rising 
in  that  perfect  day,  in  which  there  shall  bo  no  night, 

4 


n  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES, 


THE  SLEEPING  DAMSEL. 

REV.  F.  WAGSTAFF. 
The  damsel  is  not  dead  but  sleepetJi. — Mark  v:  39. 
T^EATH  never  inquires  about  age  or  goodness  before 
^^  he  touches  with  his  icy  finger.  This  girl  was  twelve 
years  of  age.  She  was  probably  a  good,  dutiful  girl,  who 
obeyed  her  parents,  rejoiced  in  their  company,  and 
basked  in  their  smile ;  she  was  doubtless  also  of  an  affec- 
tionate, obliging  disposition,  for  while  we  know  that  her 
father  loved  and  sought  on  her  behalf  the  Saviour's  saving 
power,  other  hearts  were  attracted  towards  her  and  many 
people  came  to  weep  over  her  at  her  death.     Learn 

I.  That  youth  and  amiability  do  not  shield  from  sick- 
ness and  death.  However  few  the  years,  amiable  the  dis- 
position, attractive  the  person,  engaging  the  manners, 
the  worm  of  sin  is  gnawing  the  vitals  and  death  is  ap- 
proaching with  his  dart. 

IL  How  valuable  are  godly  parents  to  their  chil- 
dren. Parental  affection  should  prompt  at  all  times  to 
deep  interest  in  the  salvation  of  children,  but  when  dan- 
ger threatens,  sickness  pales,  and  weakness  shows  the 
precursory  dissolution,  there  should  be  no  hesitancy  or 
delay  in  seeking  the  aid  and  presence  of  Jesus.  This 
child's  father  sought  Jesus.  He  was  his  only  hope.  How 
great  his  faith,  even  when  she  was  dead.  ''  Only  lay  thy 
hand  upon  her  and  she  shall  live."    Mai't.  ix  :  18. 

III.  The  comforting  word  with  which  Jesus  clothes 
the  idea  of  death.  "Sleep."  He  ever  sought  to  impress 
the  people  that  death  is  not  the  end,  but  only  the  sus- 
pension of  activity.  Sleep  is  rest 'for  future  activity. 
Death  is  rest,  and  that  only  of  the  body,  as  in  sleep,  that 
in  the  resurrection,  soul  ancl  body  may  enter  wpon  re' 


YOUTU.  75 

Rcwed  activiiics.  It  is  in  this  higher  ]:)lessed  sense  that 
Jesus  has  used  the  word,  '*  Asleep  in  Jesus!  Blessed 
sleep,  etc." 

IV.  Observe  Jesus  the  resurrection.  His  heart  is 
moved  bj  the  father's  and  mother's  grief — tender  and 
loving  Himself — the  elder  brother  saw  with  pity  in  his 
eye  the  little  sister  in  the  embrace  of  death — and  hay- 
ing omnipotence  at  his  command  He  used  these  sweet 
winning,  powerful  words,  ^*  Damsel,"  or,  as  Dean  Sanley 
translates  the  original,  ''My  lamb,  my  sweet  little  lamb, 
I  say  unto  thee,  arise."  How  precious  the  friendship  of 
Jesus,  how  ready  to  aid  in  distress,  how  tender  in  his 
symjjathics,  how  omnipotent  in  his  power. 

V.  Note  how  death  quails  before  the  touch  and  words 
of  Jesus.     ^'He  took  her  by  the  hand,"  and  said. 

How  valuable  that  hand-help,  and  those  words  of  life 
and  power.  How  often  that  maiden  must  have  thought 
of  the  time  when  she  came  to  life  again  and  found  her 
hand  held  by  one  so  kind  and  strong.  Would  she  not 
afterward — knowing  that  she  was  raised  to  life — say, 
''  For  me  to  live  is  Christ." 

VI.  Learn  the  fatality  of  sin.  The  importance  of 
faith,  the  value  of  pious  relatives — the  readiness,  tender- 
ness and  power  of  Jesus — the  sweet  name  he  gives  to 
death.  Give  Him  yoicr  hand  now,  and  he  will  taJce  you 
hy  the  hand  at  the  resurrection  and  present  you  to  all 
blessed  and  loving  ones. 


There  comes  the  thought  of  glory, 

To  which  our  friends  are  gone; 
The  far  surpassing  j}^lory, 

Bej^ond  what  earth  lias  known. 
Estate  of  light  and  gladness, 

Where  tears  aie  wiped  away; 
The  joy  in  blessed  fullness 

Of  everlasting  day. 


76  MEM  QUI AL     TRIBUTES. 


ONE  NOTE  IN  A  BUKIAL  HYMN. 

REV.  CHARLES  JERDAN. 
We  spend  our  years  as  a  tale  that  is  told. — Ps.  90:  9. 
n[^HIS  is  one  of  the  oldest,  noblest,  richest  of  the 
-^  Psalms.  Its  grand  theme  is  to  contrast  God  and 
man.  Its  tone  is  pensive,  sad,  like  a  funeral  dirge.  It  is 
in  fact  the  burial  hymn  of  the  whole  generation  of  un- 
believers, who  left  their  bones  in  the  wilderness.  Yet 
it  lays  hold  of  the  power  and  mercy  of  the  God  of  Je- 
shurun  and  represents  Jehovah  as  the  everlasting  home 
of  men.  It  has  a  variety  of  similes  expressive  of  the 
frailty  and  brevity  of  human  life,  one  of  which  is  our 
text.     Consider  then 

I.  Our  Lives  as  a  Tale  : 

1.  Because  of  their  romantic  interest.  This  interest 
attaches  to  our  life,  because  of  the  greatness  of  our 
nature.  A  human  life  is  a  divine  thing,  because  man 
was  made  in  the  image  of  God.  The  meanest  person 
has  wonderful  faculties  and  '*  the  power  of  an  endless 
life."  The  history  of  the  humblest  human  life  is  a 
story  of  wonders.  What  a  tragedy  is  the  career  of  every 
unconverted  man,  as  his  noble  humanity  sinks  down, 
down,  ever  down  into  the  blackness  of  darkness.  It  is 
"  Vanity  Fair  "  in  real  life.  What  a  story  of  light  and 
love  and  glory  unutterable  is  the  biography  of  the 
believer,  the  tale  of  the  '^  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  "The 
path  of  the  just,  &c.'' 

2.  Because  of  its  brevity.  Every  story,  however 
thrilling,  soon  comes  to  an  end.  So  with  human  biogra- 
phy. Moses  in  this  Psalm,  Jacob.  The  hours  some- 
times in  a  life  may  seem  to  pass  slowly,  but  when  all 
gone,  they  only  seem  as  the  told  tale  ;  delusive,  disap- 


TOUTS.  "il 

pointings  despicable.  But  Faith  looks  upon  every  man's 
life  story  with  far  other  eyes.  It  sees  the  thread  of  the 
narrative  which  seems  cut  by  the  shears  of  death  taken 
up  on  the  other  side  and  projected  tlirough  eternity. 
It  is  a  serial  tale — ^^To  be  continued  in  our  next,"  run- 
ning on  in  the  eternal  world  upon  the  same  lines  and 
evoh'ing  the  same  plot  and  plan  as  those  which  we  have 
already  composed  during  the  present  life. 

3.  Because  of  the  oblivion  in  store  for  them.  How- 
ever captivating  the  story,  it  is  soon  forgotten.  So  we 
shall  not  only  die,  but  die  out,  fade  from  the  memory  of 
others.  What  does  the  big  bnsy  world  care  about  the 
life  story  of  those  who  lie  under  the  coverlet  of  green  ? 
'^The  living  know  that  they  must  die,  &c."  We  write 
our  names  on  water,  but  the  Christian  man  rejoices  tliat 
his  record  is  on  high,  and  his  name  engraven  on  the 
breast-plate  of  the  Eedeemer. 

II.  The  tellers  of  the  tale.  Every  romance  has  an 
author.  God  our  maker  may  be  truly  said  to  be  the 
author  and  jmblisher  of  the  story  of  our  life.  We  draw 
our  being  out  of  His.  God  has  a  definite  life  plan  for 
every  human  being,  and  we  ought  to  co-operate  with 
Him  in  the  unfolding  of  it  from  day  to  day.  But  we 
must  not  forget  that  each  one  of  us  is  in  a  special  sense 
the  teller  of  his  own  life  story.  Every  one  of  us  knows 
that  he  is  freely  and  responsibly  engaged  in  determining 
his  own  destiny.  If  we  are  not  co-operating  with  God,  we 
have  a  prospectus  of  our  own.  God's  would  lead  ^^to 
glory,  honor,  immortality,"  ours  is  ^^ earthly,  sensual, 
devilish."  What  are  the  contents  of  the  pages  we  have 
been  writing  ?  Is  this  their  epitome  ?  "To  me  to  live  is 
Clirist." 

III.  The  listeners  to  the  tale,  A  tale  "told"  is  for 
the  benefit  of  some  attentive  auditory.  Who  are 
listening  to  the  story  of  our  lives  ? 


78  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

1.  We  ourselves  are  listening  to  it.  Our  memory  ig 
listening  and  ^'pigeon-holing,"  treasuring.  This  book 
may  be  opened  at  the  judgment. 

2.  Our  relatives  and  yieiglibors  are  listening  to  it. 
They  are  reading  and  carefully  pondering.  ''None  of 
us  liveth  to  himself."  Wondrously  influential  is  every 
chapter  and  verse  of  this  tale  as  it  is  told.  "  Do  not  sin 
against  the  child."     You  are  your  "brother's  keeper." 

3.  God  is  listening  to  it.  He  has  an  open  eye  and 
an  attentive  ear.  "He  shall,  bring  every  work  into 
judgment,"  shall  read  out  our  life  tale  before  the  uni- 
verse. It  may  run  thus,  "I  was  an  hungered,  &c.,  came 
unto  me,"  or  it  may  run  thus,  "I  was  an  hungered,  &c., 
visited  me  -not."  "Oh  that  we  were  wise,  &c." 

Let  us  so  live  that  our  tale,  when  it  is  "told,"  shall 
be  written  in  heaven  and  not  in  hell. 


LIFE  FOR  THE  DEAD. 

JAMES  HAMILTOJ^,  D.D. 
Young  man,  1  say  unto  thee,  arise. — Luke  7: 14. 
TT  was  a  summer  day  in  a  lovely  region.     The  Saviour 
and  his  disciples  were  entering  a  little  hamlet,  when 
cries  fell  on  their  ears,  and  a  funeral  possession  met  their 
gaze.     On  the  bier  lay  a  young  man,  the  only  son  of  a 
widow.     It  was  a  distressing  scene,  touched  the  heart  of 
Jesus,  who  touched  the  bier,  and  said,  "young  man,  etc." 
I.  Death  is  the  great  destroyer  of  earthly  happiness. 
It  throws  a  pall  over  every  landscape,  darkens   every 
window,   dims  every  eye.      It    had  done   all  this  and 
more   for  this  widow.     Her  husband  was  gone,  all  her 
plans  frustrated,  etc.,  and  now  her  only  son  is  on  the  bier. 
There  was  no  one  to  protect,  support,  comfort  her. 


YOUTH.  79 

Death  is  the  great  damper  to  all.  The  desire  of  the 
eyes  taken  away,  and  a  pensiveness  brooding  over  every- 
thing left,  a  fearful  foreboding  in  the  heart  continually 
solicitous  about  some  darling  object  and  all  a  lifetime 
*^  subject  to  bondage." 

II.  Jesus  is  the  destroyer  of  death.  The  bier-bearers 
stand  still  at  his  touch,  the  disembodied  spirit  heard  the 
voice,  and  the  re-animated  widow's  son  arose.  He  who  is 
the  ''resurrection  and  the  life''  had  spoken;  at  his 
omnipotent  behest,  the  spirit  came  again,  and  a  trans- 
ported mother  and  an  awe-struck  multitude  announced, 
the  miracle  complete. 

No  spirit  that  has  passed  away  is  extinct.  It  will 
in  due  time  hear  this  same  voice,  and  recognize  its  old 
companion  and  re-enter  its  mortal  shrine. 

Jesus  is  effecting  the  resurrection  of  dead  souls  every 
day.  Souls  blind  to  all  beauty — deaf  to  all  holy  sounds, 
wrapped  in  the  grave-clotbes  of  sins.  He  arrests  these 
sometimes  by  a  startling  providence  on  their  way  to  the 
gulf  of  souls.  Or  hjioordUe,  does  it :  ''arise.''  The 
soul  is  quickened,  etc.  He  who  believes  in  Jesus  will 
never  die.  Faith  in  Him  lightens  the  gloom  of  the 
funeral  day,  and  inspires  with  a  hope  of  meeting  in  the 
same  Father's  house. 

III.  Jesus  by  a  graceful  generosity  consummated  the 
deed  of  mercy.  He  might  have  said, "Follow  me."  "He 
delivered,  etc."  Pity  first  prompted  and  now  generosity 
consummates.  The  young  man's  gratitude  was  to  be 
exhibited  by  dutiful  obedience  to  his  mother.  Show 
piety  at  home.  Be  a  paragon  of  filial  piety.  "  How  can 
I  show  my  love  to  my  Saviour  ?"  Love  your  parents. 
Give  them  your  confidence,  society,  your  sympathy,  and 
God  your  heart. 


80  MEMOniAL     TRIBUTES. 


THE  AMUSIVE  WASTE   OF  LIFE. 

WM.  M.  PAXTON",  D.D. 
We  spend  our  years  as  a  tale  that  is  told. — Ps.  90:  9. 
npHE  times  and  incidents  of  each  year  as  it  closes,  fast 
recede  from  view,  as  if  borne  npon  an  ebbing  tide 
never  to  return.  And  these  years  are  ours.  It  is  a  sad 
and  solemn  thing  to  part  with  anything  that  is  ours.  In 
what  sense  are  they  ^'  ours  ?"  We  have  no  proprietorship 
in  them,  nor  authority  over  them.  Yet  they  are  linked 
to  us  by  a  personal  res^^onsibility  and  indissoluble  rela- 
tion. 

1.  They  are  ours  to  enjoy.  Enjoyment  is  the  appro- 
priation by  which  a  thing  becomes  truly  our  own.  With- 
out this  there  can  be  no  real  possession,  and  God  made  the 
years  to  be  the  measure  of  our  joy.  Each  day  and  year 
is  a  new  gift  of  heaven  to  enjoy.  Better  lose  a  jewel 
than  a  joy. 

2.  They  are  ours  to  employ.  Ours  for  the  best  and 
most  valuable  uses.  They  are  our  seed  time  to  be  em- 
ployed. They  are  a  mine  in  which  there  is  a  mass  of 
25recious  treasure.  They  are  our  working  day,  in  which 
God  says,  "Go  work,  my  son,  etc." 

3.  They  are  ours  to  account  for.  Time  is  a  precious 
treasure  given  us  in  trust,  as  stewards,  and  a  year  gone,  is 
a  year  gone  to  the  judgment  seat.  So  is  everyday,  hour, 
moment.  How  do  we  spend  these  years?  The  text  tells 
us.     The  words  imply  a  censure. 

11.  The  comparison.     Dwell  for  a  few  moments  on  it. 

1.  ''  As  a  tale,"  as  a  false,  unreal,  fictitious  thing, 
and  not  a  sober  history.  The  allusion  is  to  the  tales, 
etc.,  told  by  traveling  minstrels  from  house  to   house. 


YOUTH.  81 

Sach  to  vast  multitudes  is  life,  a  vain,  unreal,  fictitious 
delusion,  a  succession  of  wanton  hopes  and  bitter  disap- 
pointments. Even  Solomon  found  it  thus.  He  mistook 
the  proper  use  and  design  of  the  good  things  of  life. 
Life  is  deceitful  only  as  we  use  it  deceitfully.  Properly 
understood  and  virtuously  fulfilled  it  is  a  scene  of  sub- 
lime reality,  a  school  for  exercise  and  evolution  of  im- 
mortal powers.     ^^Life  is  earnest,  etc." 

2.  We  spend  our  years  amusively,  as  if  listening  to  a 
tale  that  is  told.  A  tale  is  usually  a  momentary  trifling 
amusement.  It  is  followed  with  no  good  or  permanent 
results.  The  story  and  the  emotions  excited  soon  pass 
and  are  forgotten.  Thus  pass  many  of  the  years  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  human  race.  They  waste  and  con- 
sume their  years  as  one  who  listens  to  a  tale  that  is  told. 
They  are  mere  butterflies.  Absorbed  by  mere  trifles. 
To  such  the  successive  stages  of  life  bring  no  solemn  re- 
flections. 

How  different  is  this  manner  of  employing  the  life 
from  that  to  which  it  was  destined  by  our  Creator  !  By 
Him  it  was  intended  to  be  to  each  one  of  us  a  day  of 
probation  and  of  grace,  a  season  in  which  we  were  to 
renounce  our  sins,  accept  of  the  mercy  offered  us  through 
a  Redeemer  and  secure  a  title  to  a  happy  immortality. 

Have  we  spent  our  years  thus  ? 

3.  We  spend  our  years  swiftly,  as  a  tale  that  is  told. 
This  confronts  us  with  a  serious  solemn  fact.    Hours 

fly  like  words,  weeks  like  sentences,  months  like  chapters, 
and  life  a  tale  quickly  told.  "We  die  daily,"  says  the 
Apostle,  die  as  fast  as  time  flies. 

*'  Our  birth  is  nothing  but  our  death  begun, 
And  cradles  rock  us  nearer  to  the  tomb." 

4.  How  short  our  past  life  appears  in  review.  "  An 
old  man  can  live  over  all  his  life  ngain  at  one  sad  sitting." 

4* 


82  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

Jacob  said,  'Tew  and  evil  have  been,  etc."  He  could 
only  remember  as  it  were  the  leading  events,  the  other 
parts  were  as  one  great  iindotted  blank. 

III.  Another  comparison.  Years  past,  like  a  tale  that 
is  told,  are  useful  only  for  their  moral.  The  past  yields 
food  only  for  solemn  reflection. 

1.  Each  year  has  'been  a  year  of  'prolonged  life. 

2.  Each  year  a  year  of  great  spiritual  opportunity 
and  privilege. 

3.  Each  year  a  year  of  domestic  and  social  enjoyment. 

The  moral  differs  according  to  the  position  and  cir- 
cumstances of  each  individual.  "As  for  me  and  my 
house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord,"  for  one ;  "  Son,  give  me 
thy  heart,"  for  another. 


DIVINE  CONSOLATION. 

J.  OSWALD   DYKES,  D.D. 

When  the  Lord  saw  7ier,  He  had  compassion  and  Re  said  unto  her, 
weep  not, — Luke  vii:  13. 

npHESE  words  were  uttered  by  the  Saviour  when  he 
met  a  funeral  procession  at  the  gate  of  the  village 
of  Nain.  A  poor  widow  had  lost  her  only  son.  It  was 
a  picture  of  the  deepest  human  grief.  His  eye  read  her 
story,  fathomed  her  anguished  heart,  had  compassion  on 
her,  and  with  a  voice  which  must  have  trembled  with  a 
strange  tenderness,  said  unto  her,  "  weep  not." 

These  two  words  were  all  he  said.  They  were  pre- 
sently interpreted  to  the  widow  of  Nain,  by  the  miracle 
which  gave  her  back  her  son.  They  have  been  since  in- 
terpreted/or us  by  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  himself 
and  by  all  the  light  which  has  been  cast  on  death,  and 
on  the  state  beyond  it,  and  on  the  day  of  general  rising. 


YOUTB,  83 

and  on  eternal  life  ;  this  leads  us  into  the  whole  of  that 
large  consolation,  which  Christ's  Gospel  brings  to  every 
Christian  who  sits  and  mourns  beside  his  dead.  We 
must  not  misunderstand  this  dissuasive  from  weeping, 
nor  misread  these  words  of  Jesus,  nor  repeat  them  in 
another  sense  than  his. 

I.  It  is  not  Christ's  way  to  comfort  by  making  light  of 
grief  and  death.  Death  is  not  in  his  eyes  a  gentle  or  a 
slight  thing.  He  made  us  for  life.  He  gave  us  love 
that  we  might  be  happy  in  living.  He  meant  us  to  live 
and  love  and  rejoice  in  love  and  life,  and  when  death 
comes  to  us  through  sin,  to  rend  the  companionships  of 
love,  Christ,  who  made  us  and  who  is  one  of  us,  knows 
what  that  means.  It  is  in  no  cold  tone  of  pitiful  con- 
tempt, with  no  touch  of  impatience  or  upbraiding,  that 
He  says  to  any  one,  "weep  not." 

II.  Christ  does  not  think  it  an  ungodly  thing  to  weep. 
It  is  not  wrong  to  sorrow.  Tears  are  no  sin.  '*  Jesus  wept." 
That  is  not  piety  which  thinks  it  pays  God  a  service  of 
dutiful  submission  when  it  chokes  its  sobs  and  veils  the 
bursting  heart  beneath  a  smooth,  dry  face.  Jesus  as- 
suages the  spring  of  grief  within,  but  does  not  chide  the 
overflow  of  tears. 

III.  Jesus  did  not  mean  to  fully  assuage  our  grief  here 
and  now.  He  gives  us  as  much  comfort  on  earth  as  will 
make  tolerable  the  losses  of  earth  and  keeps  more  com- 
fort for  the  life  to  come.  When  Jesus  bade  that  widow 
dry  her  tears  it  was  in  anticipation  of  the  deed  he  was 
about  to  do.  Words  are  very  impotent  without  deeds. 
Till  the  lost  is  given  back,  the  heart  cannot  quite  cease 
to  mourn.  It  is  written  of  another  place  than  earth,  that 
there  "God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears,"  and  there  only; 
and  the  reason  is,  that  only  there  God  will  restore  to  us 
our  lost  and  mourned.  The  chastened  and  purified  sor- 
row of  a  bereaved  Christian  is  sorrow  still,  but  it  has 


84  MEMOMiAL     TRIBUTES. 

more  of  heaven  in  it,  than  many  things  which  men  call 

joys. 

What  then  is  the  comfort  which  even  now  the  Gospel 
of  our  Saviour  mingles  with  the  mourning  of  his  people? 

IV.  The  Gospel  has  entirely  changed  the  character  of 
death  to  the  departed.  The  death  of  an  unforgiven  one 
is  the  knel]  of  hope.  If  it  is  thus  my  friend  has  died, 
how  shall  I  be  comforted  ?  But  the  Christian's  is  a  stmg- 
less  death.  Death  to  such  a  one  is  an  angel  of  peace. 
He  comes  to  loose  the  prison-bands  of  clay  and  set  them 
free  to  go  home  to  their  Father's  house.  Theirs  is  the 
gain,  ours  is  the  loss,  yet  not  all,  for  we  must  not  forget 
that  Christ's  gospel  has  a  power  of  transmuting  present 
bereavement  into  gain.  Bereavement  is  often  turned  for 
those  who  live  into  a  blessing.  God  did  two  kindnesses 
at  one  stroke  when  He  bereft  you  of  your  beloved  :  one 
kindness  to  him  ;  another  kindness  to  you.  To  him,  the 
perfecting  of  character  and  bestowal  of  bliss ;  to  you, 
ripening  of  character  and  preparation  for  bliss. 

By  such  sweet  solaces  of  sorrow  as  these,  Christ 
leads  us  forward  to  the  hope  of  a  yet  future  and  still 
grander  consolation,  when  we  shall  be  reunited  in  a  holy 
place  and  forever.  It  was  a  prediction  of  this  which 
Jesus  gave  that  day  at  Nain  by  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  son  and  his  reunion  to  his  mother.  The  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  Himself  is  that  Avhich  guarantees  the  ulti- 
mate unpeoplingof  every  tomb,  including  that  *'vast  and 
wandering  grave,"  the  sea.  His  risen  body  presents  the 
type  of  every  reconstructed  Christian  body.  His  glori- 
fied life  is  the  source  and  pledge  of  their  life  in  glory. 
For  this  recall  from  death  by  the  archangel's  voice  to 
Christ's  own  deathless  and  transfigured  immortality,  as 
for  the  deepest,  grandest  and  last  of  our  consolations, 
Christ  bids  us  hope.  Now  we  are  sad  and  weary  for  we 
dwell  apart ;  but  Jesus  has  comp;issi<>n  on  us  as  he  had 


YOUTH.  85 

upon  the  widow,  and  he  tenderly  encourages  us  to  be 
patient,  and  to  wait,  because  with  such  hopes  as  these 
He  leads  us,  greatly  longing,  forward  to  a  day,  when  He 
shall  give  back  our  lost  beloved  to  our  eternal  embrace, 
and  us  also  to  theirs,  the  glorified  to  the  glorified,  to  be 
for  ever  one.  Then  He  shall  wipe  all  tears  from  our 
eyes,  and  say,  otherwise  and  more  effectually  than  He  did 
at  Nain,  ^^Weep  not." 


THE  MOUENER'S  BEST  NEWS. 

KEV.  WM.  MORLEY  PUNSHOI^T. 
Jes^u  mid  unto  her,  1  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life. — John  xi:  25. 
npHESE  are  grand  words,  though  they  have  often 
fallen  upon  hearts  bruised  and  pained,  and  when  the 
thoughts  are  more  occupied  with  the  cypress  than  the 
laurel.  But  the  mystery  of  life  which  God  has  arranged 
to  come  out  of  the  mystery  of  death,  is  at  once  the 
holiest  revelation  of  his  glory  and  the  fullest  evangel  of 
his  love.  The  text  is  found  in  a  narrative  inimitable 
for  its  tenderness.  Full  of  lessons  of  heavenly  wisdom, 
k.ndness,  compassion,  divine  simplicity.  There  is  very 
much  in  it  for  interesting  and  beautiful  contemplation, 
but  our  text  is  its  central  announcement,  and  our  Saviour 
designed  to  have  it  impressed  as  a  Gospel,  not  for  that 
family  only,  but  for  the  mourners  of  all  time. 

I.  Think  of  the  authority  with  which  these  words  are 
spoken.  "I  am  ;"  not,  "I  will  be.''  Surely  no  creature 
could  speak  thus.  He  speaks  as  a  king  would  speak, 
whose  royalty  was  doubted.  The  words  assume  a  su- 
preme and  essential  power  over  life  and  death.  His 
was  the  original  gift  of  life — his  the  right  to  dissolve  its 
organization,    and    the   right   to  confer   it   again,    and 


86  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

therefore,  He,  and  He  only  could  be  the  opener  of  the 
world  of  graves.  Man's  power  is  wondrous.  But  to 
confer  life  is  explicitly  affirmed  in  the  scriptures  as  the 
exclusive  prerogative  of  Godhead.  The  mystery  and 
the  marvel  cease  when  God  is  introduced — "that  God 
should  raise  the  dead."  The  words  of  our  text  are  the 
Redeemer's  assumption  of  divinity.  In  that  benignant 
weeper  over  His  friend's sepulcher  we  behold  the  omnip- 
otent and  eternal  God.  These  words  also  affirm  that 
through  Him — the  Christ — resurrection  came  to  man. 
Christ  to  man  is  the  resurrection — its  source,  spring, 
author,  finisher  in  a  sense  in  which  no  other  can  be. 
The  stone  has  been  rolled  away  from  the  door  of  His 
sepulcher,  "  Christ  is  risen,  and  has  become  the  first 
fruits  of  them  that  slept."  Christ  then  has  a  right  to 
speak  with  authority. 

Nor  must  we  exclude  from  our  thoughts  the  idea 
of  a  spiritual  resurrection — the  soul  bursting  from  the 
tomb  of  its  corruption  and  blooming  into  newness  of 
life.  Though  all  men  inherit  immortality,  the  future 
of  the  wicked  is  never  dignified  by  the  name  of  life. 
"Everlasting  contempt," — "  Everlasting  destruction." 
"  They  shall  not  see  life,  because  the  wrath  of  God 
abideth  upon  them."  This  is  a  corpse  world — dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins.  The  sinner  breathes  in  visible  life, 
thinks  in  intellectual  life,  feels  in  emotional  life,  but 
he  is  destitute  of  spiritual  life.  But  the  Christian's  life 
is  in  Christ.  From  the  tomb  of  his  corruption  he  rises 
by  Christ  into  a  moral  resurrection,  and  becomes,  by  faith 
in  Christ,  "  dead  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God."  He  is 
quickened.  He  was  formerly  dead.  He  has  passed  from 
death  unto  life.  This  is  the  deeper  meaning  which  the 
term  in  the  text  embodies.  Oh,  the  glorious  fullness  of 
a  completed  resurrection,  which  at  once  ransoms  the  body 
from  the  grave  and  the  soul  from  the  fonl  sepulcher  of 


TOUTB.  8? 

sin  !  Do  3^ou  wonder  that  like  Paul  at  Athens  we  should 
preach  to  you  "  Josus  and  the  resurrection  ?" 

Dwell  on  this  comforting  thought,  tempted,  sorrowing 
believer,  for  it  speaks  of  encouragement  and  assurance. 
Art  thou  mourning  for  friend,  companion,  child  ?  Oh,  let 
Jesus  stand  by  thee,  and  as  thou  listenest  to  his  inspiring 
words,  bo  comforted,  and  thy  frame  shall  feel  the  pulses 
of  a  glad  hope  as  when  nature  stirs  in  the  first  blush  of 
spring.  If  they  and  thou  are  alike  in  Jesus,  then  hast 
thou  not  looked  the  last  upon  thy  friends.  There  shall 
not  be  a  vesture  of  death  about  either  thee  or  them.  Ye 
shall  rise  in  the  faultlessness  of  thy  new  character — the 
Lamb's  unspotted  bride.  Let  us  realize  the  double  con- 
solation— comfort  for  the  mourners  who  are  crushed 
beneath  some  pressing  sorrow,  comfort  for  mourners 
who  wrestle  with  some  giant  sin,  and  in  our  distress, 
and  in  our  feebleness,  let  us  hear  the  voice  again,  as  once, 
by  the  charnel  cave  of  Lazarus,  it  ran  electric,  like  a  line 
of  light,  to  make  the  blood  flow  freely  in  the  veins  of 
the  living  and  then  leaped  into  the  sepulcher  to  relax 
even  the  very  grip  of  death  itself.  ^^I  am  the  resur- 
rection and  the  life." 

II.  Dwell  for  a  little  upon  the  word  "life"— that 
word  that  is  always  music — that  word,  next  to  the  word 
"  God  in  Christ"  has  in  it  the  deepest  meaning  in  the 
world.  We  have  anticipated  this  somewhat.  But  let 
us  cross  the  flood  where  that  life  specially  is,  whose  path 
the  Saviour  is  to  show,  the  mansions  which  He  has  gone 
to  prepare.  Jesus  is  called,  "  The  true  God  and  eternal 
life."  What  is  this  eternal  life,  which  is  held  before  the 
believer's  eye,  and  chartered  as  his  privilege  ? 

This  life  is  conscious ;  death  cannot  for  one  moment 
paralyze  the  soul.  Paul  said  it  was  '^  far  better  to  de- 
part." He  knew  the  moment  he  was  released  from  mor- 
tality he  should  be  with  Christ.    There  is  not  a  moment's 


88  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

interval  of  slumber  for  the  soul — we  do  not  cease  to  be. 
We  only  change  the  conditions  of  our  being.  There  is 
no  human  soul,  which  from  the  day  of  Adam  until  now 
has  ever  dwelt  in  clay,  that  is  not  alive  to-day  I  It  is 
a  conscious  world  into  which  we  are  passing. 

Again,  Heaven  is  not  a  solitude.  It  is  a  peopled  city 
— where  there  are  no  strangers,  no  homeless,  no  poor, 
where  one  does  not  pass  another  in  the  street  without 
greeting,  where  no  one  is  envious  of  another's  superior 
minstrelsy  or  of  another's  more  brilliant  crown.  They 
are  not  only  with  the  Saviour,  but  with  the  "General 
Assembly,"  and  with  "  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  per- 
fect ;"  all  affections  are  pure,  all  enjoy  conscious  recog- 
nition, all  abide  in  perpetual  reunion,  in  a  home  with- 
out a  discord,  without  an  illness,  without  a  grave. 

Take  comfort,  then ;  those  from  whom  you  have  parted 
or  from  whom  you  shall  have  soon  to  separate,  shall  be 
your  companions  again,  recognized  as  of  old,  and  loved 
with  a  purer  love. 

The  resurrection  and  the  life — what  heart  is  not 
thrilled  with  the  preciousness  of  the  promise — who  does 
not  feel  more  grateful  to  the  Redeemer,  who  brings  him 
life  ?  Enjoyed  recompense,  recovered  friends — there 
for  ever  and  Jesus  with  us  there  1 


Dear  as  thou  wert,  and  justly  dear, 

We  will  not  weep  for  thee; 
One  thought  will  check  the  starting  tear, 

It  is — that  thou  art  free. 
And  thus  shall  Faith's  consoling  power 

The  tears  of  love  restrain : 
Oh!  who  that  saw  thy  parting  hour, 

Could  wish  thee  here  again? 


YOUTH,  89 


THE  BELIEVER,  IN  LIFE,  DEATH,  AND 
ETERNITY. 

REV.  JOSEPH   HASLEGRAVE,    ENGLAND. 

On  occasion  of  the  Death  of  two  Young  Ladies,  Teachers  in  the 
Sunday  School. 

'  He  shall  enter  into  peace;  they  shall  rest  in  tJieir  beds,  each  one 
walking  in  his  uprightness.'' — Isaiah  Ivii :  2. 

ll/TAN  dieth  and  wasteth  away  ;  yea,  man  giveth  up 
the  ghost,  and  where  is  he  ? 

Beneath  the  green  sod,  on  which  we  lightly  tread 
and  drop  the  tear,  lies  mingling  with  its  kindred  dust, 
the  form  with  which  we  were  once  familiar,  and  whose 
presence  may  have  called  forth  many  a  deep  and  happy 
emotion;  but  where  is  the  invisible  spirit  that  once 
energized,  animated,  lived  in  it  ?  The  soul,  where  is 
it  ?  That  it  has  not  ceased  existence,  its  own  throb- 
bings  after  immortality,  its  own  hopes  or  fears  of  future 
being,  its  own  inherent  consciousness  that  dissolution 
has  no  power  over  it,  may  well  be  taken  as  proof,  while 
the  revelation  of  God  has  left  the  matter  beyond  all 
doubt,  and  has  assured  us,  that  when  the  body  returns 
to  the  dust  as  it  was,  the  soul  returns  to  God  who  gave 
it,  to  be  disposed  of  as  most  fitting,  either  to  enjoy  Him, 
or  to  be  banished  from  Him  for  ever. 

What  a  thought,  as  we  walk  the  cemeteries  and  think 
of  the  dead  and  buried  of  past  generations,  and,  musing 
among  the  tombs,  the  inscription  meets  our  eye,  record- 
ing the  mortal  remains  sleeping  beneath  ;  yet  in  that 
very  word  **  mortal  "  beckoning  to  man's  immortal  part 
with  the  question,  **  Where  is  it  ?"  The  mother  that 
^ave  me  birth,  the  father  that  protected  and  provided 


90  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

for  my  helpless  youth,  the  brotlier,  the  sister,  the  hus- 
band, the  wife,  the  friend,  the  companion — ^^ where?" 
*^  Your  fathers,  where  are  they?"  The  grave  answers, 
*'  Their  mortal  remains  are  with  me,  but  I  have  no  more 
in  my  keeping."  The  Bible  answers,  '*  Their  immortal 
spirits  are  living  unto  God." 

And  as  the  tear  of  hopeful  sorrow  drops  upon  the 
precious  dust,  the  prayer  heaves  within,  ^^  Let  me  die 
the  death  of  tlie  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be 
like  his."  Not  a  few  such,  thank  God,  we  have  known, 
who  have  thus  fallen  ''  asleep  in  Jesus."  And  eminently 
has  it  been  thus  with  the  two  much  loved  and  dejDarted 
ones,  whose  faith  and  conversation  we  would  summon  to 
your  remembrance  on  this  mournful  occasion ;  mourn- 
ful only  to  the  Church  below,  because  of  its  bereave- 
ment, but  joyful  to  the  Church  above,  because  of  its 
addition  to  its  numbers  ;  for  truly  and  emphatically  may 
it  be  said  of  both,  as  the  narrative  of  their  last  hours 
v/ill  prove — they  have  *'  entered  into  peace,"  or  sweetly 
glided  away  in  peace;  they  are  now  ^'resting  in  their 
beds,  each  one  walking  in  her  uprightness." 

"Whatever  be  the  lasting  impressions  made  on 
survivors,  the  departed  righteous  have  ^'entered  into 
peace."  In  respect  to  their  bodies,  they  are  resting  in 
their  peaceful  dormitories ;  in  respect  to  their  souls, 
each  is  walking  before  God  in  its  uprightness. 

Commentators  have  understood  this  latter,  as  de- 
scriptive of  their  life  or  walk  with  God  while  on  earth  ; 
determining  alike  the  circumstances  of  their  leaving  it, 
and  the  consequences.  Theirs  was  a  life  before  God  of 
uprightness  ;  at  its  close,  therefore,  as  a  happy  conse- 
quence, it  is  a  departing  in  peace  ;  the  soul  at  once  en- 
tering into  the  fullness  thereof,  in  the  land  of  everlast- 
ing uprightness  ;  and  the  body  slumbering  in  its  bed. 


TOUTS,  91 

after  its  day  of  toil,  till  the  bright  morning  of  the 
resurrection. 

But  this  will  not  shut  out  the  interpretation  we  are 
more  inclined  to  give,  but  will  rather  so  harmonize  with 
it  as  to  add  to  it  additional  power.  Taking  them  to- 
gether, the  words  of  the  text  will  lead  us  to  contemplate 
the  child  of  God — 

I.  In  the  strength  and  vigor  of  life.  Nominal  re- 
ligion and  vital  religion  are  as  different  in  their  ways  as 
they  will  be  in  their  end.  Self  is  the  idol  of  one  ;  God 
is  the  object  of  the  other.  Morality  is  all,  therefore, 
which  the  one  commends  ;  sanctification  is  the  express 
will  of  the  other.  A  secret  distaste  to  spiritual  things 
marks  the  one  ;  a  growing  relish  and  love  to  them  dis- 
tinguishes the  other.  And  this  is  in  keeping  with  their 
true  character.  Self-satisfaction,  a  false  peace,  a  ground- 
less hope,  is  all  which  the  better  sort  of  the  worldly  ever 
can  attain  to  ;  a  satisfaction  in  God,  a  '^  peace  which 
passeth  all  understanding,"  a  hope  which  shall  never 
"make  ashamed,"  is  the  portion  of  the  other.  For  the 
kingdom  of  God,  into  which  they  have  found  admission, 
is  "righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.'' 
It  is  righteousness,  whether  imputed  or  inwrought ;  and 
both  there  must  be,  to  qualify  for  the  high  privilege  of 
a  walk  with  God.  The  person  must  be  justified;  and 
this  only  can  be  through  the  righteousness  of  Christ  by 
faith ;  and  the  character  must  be  sanctified  by  faith,  of 
the  operation  of  God.  And  thus  it  is,  that  every  par- 
doned sinner  becomes  a  changed  and  holy  character. 
"Accepted  in  the  Beloved,"  he  walks  before  God  in  up- 
rightness. And  this  has  ever  been  the  way  the  fathers 
trod  from  the  beginning.  Thus  Enoch  walked  with 
God — Noah  walked  with  God — Abraham  walked  before 
God.     They  had  their  heaven  on  earth,  till  earth   re- 


02  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

ceived  its  own,  and  their  happy  spirits  mounted  up  to 
"walk  with  Christ  in  white,  for  they  were  worthy." 

Such  a  walk  as  this,  is  not  undertaken  at  the  bidding 
of  conscience,  to  satisfy  its  scruples  or  to  allay  its  fears. 
It  springs  from  a  renewed  heart ;  from  the  deep  and  pure 
gushings  of  love  within  ;  from  reconciliation  and  peace 
with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  from 
the  moment  that  God's  love  visits  the  soul,  calling  forth 
love  to  Him  in  return,  this  holy,  heavenly,  happy  walk 
commences.  A  thing  of  free  choice,  for  the  affections 
are  drawn  to  it ;  of  liberty  of  service,  for  the  heart  is  en- 
larged ;  of  pure  delight,  for  it  is  heaven  begun,  and  will 
be  heaven  consummated.  To  defer  it,  would  be  to  defer 
the  soul's  happiness  ;  and  therefore,  in  the  bloom  of 
youth,  in  the  vigor  of  health,  in  the  prospects  of  life, 
let  others  ask,  '^Who  will  show  us  any  good  ?" — the 
heaven-born  child  replies,  in  the  deep  and  fervent  breath- 
ings of  his  soul,  ^^As  for  me.  Lord,  lift  Thou  up  the 
light  of  Thy  countenance  upon  me  :  I  will  behold  Thy 
face  in  righteousness:  I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake 
with  Thy  likeness." 

It  certainly  was  thus  with  both  our  departed  friends, 
removed  at  so  early  an  age,  the  one  but  twenty-three, 
and  the  other  but  twenty- five  ;  and  yet  for  years  before, 
both,  through  gi-ace,  had  made  their  happy  choice  for 
eternity,  and  in  the  service  of  that  Lord,  into  whose  joy 
they  have  now  fully  entered,  had  spent  their  brief,  but 
happy  life.  Assuredly  we  have  reason  to  mourn  the  loss 
our  Sabbath  School  has  sustained,  in  the  removal  of  both, 
while  from  their  very  graves  they  seem  to  utter  a  voice 
to  many  a  young  and  pious  discij^le,  and  affectionately 
to  plead  in  behalf  of  their  bereaved  charge— "Work 
while  it  is  day ;  the  night  cometh  wherein  no  one  can 
work." 

We  have  not  alluded  to  these  things,  with  any  inten- 


TOUTS.  93 

tion  to  eulogize  the  dead;  could  they  speak,  it  would  be 
to  bid  us  rather  throw  the  mantle  over  the  imperfection 
of  their  best  doings,  or  the  things  they  have  left  undone, 
than  to  utter  a  word  of  praise;  but  we  do  it  for  the  com- 
fort and  the  instruction  of  the  living.  We  do  it  for  the 
glory  of  the  grace  of  God,  which  shone  so  beautifully  in 
them;  we  do  it  as  an  illustration  of  the  principle  of  faith 
leading  its  happy  possessor  to  rise  above  the  world,  and 

"  Give  to  God  each  moment,  as  it  flies;" 

consecrating  the  energies  of  the  soul  and  the  faculties 
of  the  body  to  His  service,  which  is  perfect,  happy 
freedom. 

II.  We  hasten  now  to  comtemplate  the  child  of  God  at 
the  close  of  such  a  life  as  this. 

A  close  there  must  come  to  the  life  of  every  man, 
fixed  and  determined;  every  day  and  every  hour  is  draw- 
ing it  nearer.  Unprepared ness  or  unfitness  for  it  cannot 
put  it  off.  It  is  certain  to  all,  it  may  be  at  the  very  door 
to  some,  and  each  is  hastening  unto  it  by  filling  up  the 
measure  of  his  iniquities,  or  growing  in  meetness  for 
'^  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light."  Over  the  end 
of  the  ungodly  we  pass  in  silence,  and  we  bid  you  ^^mark 
the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright,  for  the  end  of 
that  man  is  peace."  It  may  be  sudden ;  but  to  such, 
sudden  death  is  sudden  glory.  It  may  be  marked  by 
much  bodily  suffering,  which  may  lay  prostrate  the  en- 
tire faculties  of  the  mind,  and  totally  incapacitate  for 
any  spiritual  exercises ;  but  that  affects  not  the  condition 
of  the  soul,  over  which  it  has  no  power,  nor  touches  that 
peace,  which  it  never  can  take  away.  *^  He  has  walked 
with  God  ;"  we  ask  no  more  to  assure  us  about  his  death. 
His  heart  and  his  flesh  fail ;  weakness  destroys  the  one, 
and  wanderings  distract  the  other,  but  God  is  the 
strength  of  his  heart  and  will    ho.  liis  portion  forever. 


94  MEMORIAL     TEfBtTT^JS. 

There  is  no  preparation  work  then  to  commence.  In  the 
language  of  one  of  our  friends,  which  she  spake  to  me  a 
short  time  before  her  death,  ^^All  is  finished."  "I  can- 
not"— she  said,  alluding  to  the  difficulty  she  had  in 
speaking;  but  added,  ''  It  matters  not ;  I  have  nothing 
to  do  ;  my  soul  I  have  given  to  Jesus  ;  He  has  it,  He  will 
keep  it  to  that  day." 

We  do  not  mean  to  assert,  that  in  the  sufferings 
which  precede  dissolution,  the  children  of  God  may  not 
be  much  tried  and  often  severely  harassed.  Before  the 
crown  of  everlasting  triumph  is  put  upon  their  heads, 
sharp  and  severe  may  be  the  last  onset,  through  which, 
doubtless,  they  will  come  off  more  than  conquerors,  and 
remember  it  only  to  enhance  the  repose  of  victory. 

Greater  strength  and  richer  glory  may  surround  the 
dying  bed  of  some,  we  doubt  not ;  and  that  too,  to  mark 
God's  own  approval  of  a  diligent  cultivation  of  grace. 
For,  as  grace  and  glory  differ  not  but  in  degree,  it  fol- 
lows, that  the  more  of  grace,  the  more  abundant  will  be 
our  entrance  into  the  everlasting  kingdom.  And  thus 
it  is  that  the  righteous  shall  '^go  in  peace." 

Our  departed  friends  have  left  an  evidence  of  this,  the 
fullest  we  could  desire.  The  one  whose  continuance  at 
home  enabled  me  to  visit  her,  said  to  me,  in  the  certain 
prospect  of  death,  ''  Never  so  happy  as  now.  I  have  no 
concern,  except  that  I  feel  for  my  dear  father  ;  and  God 
can  be  to  him  '  better  than  sons  or  daughters.' "  And  a 
little  before  her  death,  in  reply  to  the  affectionate  in- 
quiry, "  If  Jesus  should  be  preparing  you  for  His  king- 
dom in  glory,  I  hope  you  feel  happy  in  the  prospect,  and 
that  you  can  leave  all  and  go  to  Him," — "  Oh  !  yes,"  she 
said,  *'  that  I  can  ;  what  a  delightful  thought,  to  be  in 
heaven  !  to  have  done  with  all  the  transitory  things  of 
time  and  sense,  and  to  be  in  heaven  ! " 

III.    We   must  sum   up  the  immediate  consequences 


YOUTB.  95 

of  death  as  it  affects  body  and  soul.  The  text  in  the 
interpretation  to  which  we  have  alluded,  seems  to  us  to 
refer  to  both.  ^^They  shall  rest  in  their  beds,  each  one 
walking  in  his  uprightness." 

We  have  already  said,  that  death  is  only  the  separa- 
tion of  body  and  soul,  a  view  in  which  the  Scriptures 
constantly  put  it  before  us.  Not  that  the  consequences 
are  precisely  the  same  to  both.  Death,  in  emancipating 
the  spirit,  dissolves  the  earthly  house  of  its  tabernacle. 
The  body  is  overborne  by  its  power  and  sinks  to  corrup- 
tion ;  but  the  soul  is  untouched,  in  its  energies  and  in 
its  life.  "  To  be  absent  from  the  body,  is  to  be  present 
with  the  Lord."  But  yet,  such  is  the  wondrous  purpose 
of  love  towards  the  body  itself,  such  the  event  that  awaits 
it,  that  although  doomed  to  see  corruption,  in  view  of 
its  coming  triumph,  death  is  more  properly  termed  a 
sleep,  and  the  grave,  a  bed.  In  darkness  indeed  it  is 
made,  but  that  only  contributes  to  its  peaceful  slumber. 
Not  more  sweet  the  rest  of  night  to  the  wearied  traveler, 
or  the  laborer  who  has  borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
day,  than  the  rest  of  the  grave  to  the  care-worn  pilgrim 
— to  the  body  burdened  with  its  infirmities  and  oppressed 
with  its  sicknesses  ;  and  what  the  disciples  said  to  Christ, 
mistaking  his  meaning,  of  the  death  of  Lazarus,  is  true 
of  every  saint  who  departs  this  life  in  the  faith  and  fear 
of  Jesus,  *'Lord  if  he  sleep  he  shall  do  well."  No  cares 
shall  press,  and  no  sin  shall  grieve.  The  bustle  and  the 
noise  of  the  world  may  go  on  as  heretofore,  and  he  lie 
quite  forgotten,  but  they  shall  not  reach  to  disturb  bis 
rest,  nor  shall  auglit  awake  him  till  the  last  trumpet  an- 
nounces the  approach  of  the  great  Conqueror,  who  will 
once  again  leave  the  glories  of  the  upper  world,  to  ac- 
complish the  redemption  of  the  body,  and  swell  the  song 
of  triumph  and  of  praise,  as  He  answers  the  prayer  of 
saints  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  '^How  long,  0  Lord,  how 


S6  MEMOniAL     TRIBtTTES. 

long  ?"— *  It  is  finished,  the  number  of  Mine  elect  is  ac- 
complished ;  I  go  that  I  may  awake  each  out  of  sleep.' 
Then  Avill  that  which  was  '*  sown  in  corruption,  be  raised 
in  incorruption  ;  that  which  was  sown  in  weakness,  be 
raised  in  power  ;  that  which  was  sown  in  dishonor,  be 
raised  in  glory,  that  which  was  sown  a  natural  body,  be 
raised  a  spiritual  body."  Thus  it  is,  that  the  dying  be- 
liever, in  commending  his  soul  to  God,  can  leave  the 
body  with  full  assurance  of  a  re-union  :  ^'My  flesh  shall 
rest  in  hope." 

This  as  to  the  body.  The  soul,  at  the  very  instant, 
enters  into  its  rest — a  rest  not  of  inactive  quiescency,  but 
such  as  befits  its  powers.  And  long  before  the  first  gush- 
ings  of  affection  have  subsided  of  weeping  relatives,  and 
the  door  closes  upon  the  forsaken  and  motionless  form,  the 
happy  spirit,  borne  upon  angels'  wings  hatli  traveled  its 
celestial  road,  and  finds  itself  with  kindred  spirits,  ''  each 
one  walking  in  its  uprightness."  Think,  then,  what 
death  does  to  every  believer.  It  emancipates  the  spirit ; 
it  transfers  it  with  perfect  powers  to  a  perfect  world.  It 
destroys  every  hindrance  to  its  perfect  service  and  its 
perfect  bliss.  It  completes  its  walk  with  God.  If  the 
latter  clause  of  the  text  be  understood  as  descriptive  of 
the  saint  walking  with  God  on  earth  in  uprightness,  it 
follows  not  but  that  it  is  descriptive  of  the  saint  after 
death  walking  before  God  in  uprightness.  Grace  was 
the  region  of  the  one,  glory  is  the  region  of  the  other. 
Oh  !  to  contemplate  them  now  each  one  walking  before 
Him  in  her  upriglitness — each  like  the  angels,  in  activ- 
ity, in  service,  in  glory;  each  enjoying  a  Sabbath  which 
will  never  end,  associated  with  a  congregation  where 
nothing  defiles,  in  strains  immortal  joining  in  the  music 
of  the  spheres,  seeing  not  through  a  glass  darkly,  but 
face  to  face,  bearing  the  weight  of  glory  and  yet  not  bur- 
dened by  it,  and  listening  to  the  great  Teacher  himself 


unfolding  His  own  promise — ^^What  I  do  thou  knowest 
not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter."  To  awake  to 
thoughts  like  these,  our  surprise  at  their  early  removal 
or  our  sorrow  at  their  early  death  must  alike  be  mod- 
erated. They  are  not  lost,  but  gone  before.  Their  ser- 
vice is  not  at  an  end,  but  infinitely  exalted  and  perfected. 
Their  sun  may  have  gone  down  while  yet  it  is  day  ;  set 
prematurely,  as  we  think,  beneath  our  horizon  ;  but  it 
has  been  only  to  rise  again  in  the  hemisphere  of  celestial 
brightness,  where  not  a  cloud  will  ever  darken  their  glory, 
where  their  happy  spirits  will  have  full  scope  in  their 
Eedeemer's  heaven,  where  the  sun  will  no  more  go  down 
and  the  moon  never  withdraw  its  shining,  but  the  Lord 
will  be  their  everlasting  light,  and  their  God  their  glory; 
and  the  days  of  their  mourning,  imperfection  and  sin 
ended. 


DYING  IN  THE  LORD. 

KEV.   W\  D.  HORWOOD. 

abergavenny,  monmouth,  england. 

On  the  Death  of  Miss  H. 

"Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  ilie  Lord  from  henceforth:  Yea^ 

saith  tJie  Spirit,  that  they  may  red  from  their  labors;  and  their 

works  do  follow  them.''    Revelation  xiv  :  13. 

A  MONG  all  the  dispensations  of  God  to  us  there  is 
not  one  more  striking,  more  impressive,  and  more 
affecting  than  that  of  death.  It  comes  to  us  all  alike 
without  any  distinction,  whether  we  are  rich  or  poor, 
learned  or  unlearned,  young  or  old.  Such  is  the  great 
fact  of  our  mortality.  And  the  manner  of  this  visita- 
tion is  oftentimes  sudden  and  unexpected,  coming,  it 
may  be,  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  swift,  yet  silent ;  or 
like  the  darkening  shadow  of  a  thunder  cloud,  creeping 
on  darker  and  darker,  and  then  suddenly  bursting  into 
5 


§8  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

sound,  loud  and  terrific.  It  is  well  for  us  to  bear  this 
truth  in  remembrance,  for  the  decree  goes  forth  to 
destroy  in  the  midst  of  man's  revels  and  engagements, 
whether  of  sensual  pleasure,  or  of  ambition,  or  of  covet- 
ousness,  or  of  pride  and  self-esteem.  The  decree,  too, 
goes  forth  in  secret  to  destroy,  and  this  without  warn- 
ing. The  earth  was  doomed  to  the  flood  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  before  '^  the  decree  brought  forth,"  or 
men  heard  of  it.  The  waters  of  Babylon  had  been 
turned,  and  the  conqueror  was  marching  into  the  city 
at  the  very  time  when  Belshazzar  was  making  ready  for 
his  feast.  "Pride  infatuates  man,  and  self-indulgence 
and  luxury  work  their  way  unseen,  like  some  smoulder- 
ing fire  which  for  a  Avhile  leaves  the  outward  forms  of 
things  unaltered.  At  length  the  decayed  mass  cannot 
hold  together,  and  breaks  by  its  own  weight,  or  on  some 
slight  and  accidental  external  violence." 

I.  Let  us  consider  the  be^^edictiok  of  the  text. 
'^Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from 
henceforth  :" 

1.  Kimrticular  dead  is  here  named,  such  as  '^  die  in 
the  Lordr  And  the  expression,  '^in  the  Lord,"  implies 
it  may  be  conceived  a  close  union  with  Christ  in  the 
glorious  objects  or  purposes  of  His  mission,  in  the 
benignity  and  grandeur  of  His  life,  in  the  supreme  ex- 
cellency of  His  character,  in  the  purity  and  beauty  of 
His  example,  in  the  infinite  love  which  led  Him  to  the 
cross,  and  in  the  everlasting  results  of  His  mediation. 
Such  an  intimate  union  with  Him  implies  also  a  reflec- 
tion of  His  Image  in  the  soul.  The  blessedness,  there- 
fore, of  those  "who  die  in  the  Lord,"  consists  in  their 
union  with  Him,  in  their  being  one  with  Him,  in  their 
security  and  shelter  in  Him,  and  in  "  their  partaking  of 
that  glory  and  happiness  which  He  has  provided  for 
them.     When    their   bodies    die,    when  their   outward 


tOUTff.  §0 

tMbernacle  is  dissolved,  tliey  still  being  in  Christ,  have  a 
house  not  built  with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens. 
They  pass  away  to  the  inheritance  prepared  for  them. 

2.  Thus  we  can  trace  the  blessedness  of  those  who 
^^die  in  the  Lord"  oyiiuard  to  the  resurrection, — '^For 
the  Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from  heaven  Avith  a 
shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the 
trump  of  God  :  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first." 
They  shall  have  the  pre-eminence.  They  shall  be  the 
first  to  realize  the  glorious  consummation  of  Christian 
faith  and  hope.  In  their  blessedness,  pronounced  by 
the  voice  from  heaven,  in  the  resurrection  of  the  just, 
they  shall  ascend  from  their  earthly  sepulchres  into  the 
clouds  above  them,  "  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air  :  and 
so  shall  ever  be  with  the  Lord."  They  who  "  die  in  the 
Lord  "  are  blessed  by  all  the  grand  and  eternal  issues  of 
the  resurrection,  embracing  all  which  throws  a  halo  of 
hopeful  brightness  over  the  sleeping  dead,  and  all  that 
makes  their  resurrection  an  opened  gateway  to  the  Eden 
where  no  secret  enemy  lurks  in  ambush,  where  no  form 
of  death  can  enter,  where  no  sigh  or  sound  of  grief  is 
heard,  and  wheie  all  tears  of  the  eyes  are  wiped  away 
for  evermore.''^ 

IL  The  Divine  response.  "Yea,  saith  the  Spirit, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors ;  and  their  works 
do  follow  them." 

1.  In  this  response  we  have  two  reasons  assigned  for 
the  benediction.  The  first  is  rest;  '^They  rest  from 
their  labors."  The  rest  hereafter  of  the  saints  of  God, 
will  not  be  inert,  like  that  of  the  rock,  but  it  will  be  the 
rest  of  activity  without  fatigue  or  wearisomeness.  We 
speak  of  the  calm  rest  of  stars,  but  they  are  constantly 
moving  round  their  common  centres,  constantly  work- 
ing out  the  grand  designs  of  the  Creator.  And  so  with 
those  who  ''rest  from  their  labors" — from  their  earthly 


100  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

labors,  from  the  toil  of  bodily  exertion  as  well  as  of 
mental,  from  the  labor  attendant  on  earthly  sufferings, 
on  missions  of  Christian  benevolence,  on  the  struggles 
of  adversity,  and  on  the  trials  of  temptation — in  their 
heavenly  rest  they  still  are  active,  still  carrying  out  the 
grand  purposes  of  their  being,  but  in  their  rest  there  is 
the  quiet  beauty  of  repose,  the  stillness  of  a  lovely 
image  reflected  on  a  mirror. 

2.  And  the  second  reason  is,  "  their  works  do  follow 
them."  The  rewards  and  consequences  of  their  good 
deeds  and  labors  attend  them  in  the  eternal  world. 
Thus,  by  our  conduct  here,  we  can  make  the  present 
affect  our  future  for  good,  and  so  lay  the  foundation  for 
happiness  millions  of  ages  to  come. 

It  were  presumptuous  perhaps,  in  me  to  speak  at 
much  length  of  the  character  of  her  who  has  just  de- 
parted from  us,  so  well  known  among  you,  and  through- 
out this  town,  and  the  whole  of  the  county.  Yet  I  well 
know  of  your  high  esteem  for  her,  and  it  may  be  sooth- 
ing to  hear  a  beloved  person  spoken  of,  even  though  the 
speaker  fail  of  doing  such  a  person  justice.  We  are  all 
more  or  less  witnesses  of  her  character,  of  those  excel- 
lent qualities  which  have  endeared  her  to  her  friends, 
and  made  her  name  respected.  And  now  while  we  offer 
some  humble  tribute  of  affection  to  her  memory,  we  are 
reminded  by  the  church,  in  which  we  offer  it,  and  the 
adjoining  building,  of  that  kindliness  of  heart,  and  of 
that  true  benevolence  which  can  never  be  forgotten. 
But  when  the  stone  walls  of  these  buildings  shall 
crumble  away  and  mingle  with  the  dust ;  when  the 
proudest  and  noblest  monuments  of  man's  wealth  and 
genius  and  munificence  shall  be  no  more ;  the  brightest 
memorial  of  our  dear  departed  friend  will  still  be  found 
in  the  hearts  of  those  she  has  benefited,  for  her  works 
^\\\  follow  her. 


YOUTH.  101 

We- are  all  of  us  without  exception  hastening  to  tlie 
hist  scene  of  all  things  earthly.  Ere  long  the  closing 
shadows  of  oui*  day  of  life  will  gather  around  us  more 
and  more  darkly,  and  then  the  night  of  death  will  close 
in  upon  us.  But  in  that  night  may  we  hehold  the  glo- 
rious light  of  the  city,  in  which  there  is  '*no  need  of  the 
sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it :  for  the  glory 
of  God  doth  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  there- 
of :" — then  may  we  realize  in  our  souls  the  blessed  mean- 
ing of  the  words — '*  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the 
Lord  from  henceforth  :  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they 
may  rest  from  their  labors  ;  and  their  works  do  follow 
them." 


THE  FADED  FLOWER. 

REV.  JAMES  HUGHES. 

TROWBUIDGK,  WILTS.,  KNGLAND. 
ON  THE  DEATH  OK  THE  LATE  MR.  W.  H.  B. 

"  The  flower  fadeth  ;  became  the  sptr'U  of  the  Lord  bloweth  upon  it,** 
Isaiah  xl:  7. 

'T^HERE  is  something  very  affecting  in  the  death  of 
young  people.  To  see  a  young  man  like  our  be- 
loved friend,  in  the  morning  of  life,  sicken,  drooj),  and 
die,  is  a  scene  which,  regarded  in  itself,  apart  from  the 
hopes  of  the  gospel  is  very  saddening.  But  there  is 
nothing  new  in  this.  The  language  of  the  Book  of  Job 
is,  "^  They  die  in  youth."  If  this  were  indeed  the  first 
death  of  a  young  man,  it  would  affect  us  most  deeply. 
It  would  be  like  seeing  the  sun  about  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  forenoon,  sinking  down  and  burying  itself  beneath 
the  horizon,  instead  of  running  his  usual  course  from 
east  to  west.  Or  to  keep  fo  the  figure  of  the  tfxt.  as  if 
the  liower  when  brusting  forth,  gradually  unfoldini^  its 


103  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

hidden  beauties^  and  ere  as  yet  it  had  reached  its  full 
proportions,  checked  in  its  expansion,  were  suddenly  to 
droop  and  perish.  But,  alas  !  the  premature  fading  of 
the  flower  is  so  often  seen  in  the  gardens  of  mortals,  and 
men,  '^in  fulfilling  their  course,"  are  so  frequently  ar- 
rested by  the  hand  of  death;  and  plunged  into  the  dark- 
ness of  the  grave  before  the  noon  of  life,  that  we  fail  to 
feel  the  deep  and  sad  impression  which  such  events  are 
fitted  to  produce.  It  is  once  more  brought  home  to  us 
in  the  removal  of  one  whom  many  of  us  knew,  and 
whom  to  know,  was  also  to  respect  and  love.  The  word 
of  God  has  made  everything  around  us  vocal  with  in- 
struction ;  stamped  its  lessons  of  inspired  wisdom  on  the 
j^age  of  nature,  and  rendered  the  whole  world  around 
and  above  us  auxiliary  to  its  purpose  of  sacred  instruc- 
tion. The  flower  of  the  field  is  oft  the  subject  of  beauti- 
ful and  affecting  allusion  in  the  word  of  God,  as  well 
an  example  of  God's  care,  as  also  a  type  of  frail  and 
perishable  humanity.  The  passages  in  which  man  is 
compared  to  a  flower  arc  many  and  striking — ^^He 
Cometh  forth  like  a  floiuer,  and  is  cut  down."  '^  As  a 
floiuer  of  the  field,  so  he  flourisheth.  For  the  wind  passeth 
over  it,  and  it  is  gone  ;  and  the  i^lace  thereof  shall  know 
it  no  more."  The  same  interesting  figure  is  involved  in 
the  passage  out  of  the  midst  of  which  we  have  selected 
our  text,  as  well  as  in  its  parallel  in  1  Peter  i.  24,  '^For 
all  flesh  is  as  grass,  and  all  the  glory  of  man  as  the  flower 
of  grass.  The  grass  withereth,  and  the  flower  thereof 
falleth  away."  These  are  a  sample  of  those  affecting 
passages  in  which  the  S^nrit  of  God  has  rendered  the 
perishing  grass  and  the  frail  flower  the  emblems  of  our 
perishable  and  mortal  nature.  How  strongly  must  we 
be  reminded  of  such  descriptions  of  humanity  when 
called  to  mourn  the  loss  of  a  young  man  in  the  prime  of 
life.     To  see  the  frumCj  when  it  is  usual  for  it  to  acquire 


YOUTH.  .        103 

additional  strength  and  hardihood,  shrinking  away  un- 
der the  touch  of  disease,  until  the  declining  process 
results  in  death.  At  once  tlie  thought  of  the  fading 
flower  presents  itself  to  our  minds,  and  we  seem  to  hear 
a  voice  which  says  to  us,  Cry — ''The  flower  fadeth  ; 
because  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  bloweth  upon  it,"  we 
notice — 

I.  That  the  flower  is  beautiful.  Flowers  are  made  as 
if  to  ornament  the  world.  There  is  no  man,  however 
blunt  his  senses,  wlio  does  not  at  once  perceive  the 
beauty  of  a  flower.  Some  flowers  are  much  more  beauti- 
ful than  others.  But  every  kind,  especially  of  culti- 
vated flowers  is  beautiful.  And  is  there  not  in  man, 
regarded  as  the  creature  of  God,  something  that  is  beau- 
tiful ?  "  The  human  face  Divine."  There  is  something 
in  the  bodily  formation  of  man  that  renders  him  more 
attractive  than  any  other  creature  in  the  world.  His 
superiority  among  all  other  creatures  of  God  below  the 
skies,  entitles  him  to  be  called  ''the  flower"  of  this  lower 
creation.  Nor  can  we  wonder  at  this,  when  we  remem- 
ber tJiat  man  was  made  to  be  "  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  How  great  must  have  been  the  beauty  of  "  man 
primeval"  when  God  had  just  made  him.  His  soul 
and  body  pure  and  spotless  His  external  form  corres- 
ponding to  tlie  inward  excellence.  The  earthen  vessel 
as  yet  unmarred,  fit  casket  of  a  pure  and  holy  spirit. 
"  The  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle,"  stamped  with 
such  external  beauty  as  befitttsd  the  spiritual  opulence 
of  its  immortal  resident.  His  face  radiant  with  the 
image  of  God  ;  the  God  of  light  and  love,  in  whose  like- 
ness he  was  made.  Truly,  he  could  have  been  only  "a 
Httle  lower  than  the  angels"  when  God  set  him  over  the 
works  of  his  hands.  What  majesty  and  grace  there  must 
have  been  in  the  whole  bearing  and  movements  of  the 
new  creature.    The  last  and  best  made  of  the  whole  of 


104  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES, 

this  lower  creation,  God's  cliief  workmanship,  the  perfec- 
tion of  his  creatures  here  below.  Surely  the  human 
flower  beamed  with  beauty  when  its  G-reat  Creator  had 
newly  formed  and  planted  it  in  Eden.  But,  alas,  the 
blight  of  sin  has  brought  a  dimness  over  the  splendor, 
and  much  of  the  original  beauty  is  lost.  Nevertheless, 
there  is  something  still  in  man  to  remind  us  of  the 
primeval  dignity  and  loveliness.  And  it  is  evident  that 
man  alone  of  all  other  creatures  in  the  world  is  intended 
to  be  '^the  shrine  of  Deity,"  ^Hhe  habitation  of  God 
through  the  Spirit."  There  is  something  in  the  struc- 
ture of  man  which  seems  to  say  plainly,  "You  were  in- 
tended to  be  the  temple  of  God!"  Alas!  Satan  has  usurped 
the  seat  of  God  ;  sin  re%ns  in  the  dwelling  place  of 
holiness,  and  as  the  fruit  of  this,  much  of  the  beauty  is 
gone.  We  see  bad  and  vile  passions  oft  depicted  in  the 
"form  and  fashion"  of  the  countenance.  Anger  and 
hatred  put  in  their  lineaments,  vile  lust  paints  some  of 
the  features,  a  sour  selfishness  reflects  itself,  and  some- 
times a  dark  despondency  overshadows  the  face  of  man. 
The  dominion  of  unholy  feeling,  and  the  practice  of 
sensual  habits  embrute  and  demonize  the  human  face, 
so  that  "  the  show  of  their  countenance  doth  witness 
against  them."  But  when  the  soul  comes  fully  under 
the  dominion  of  God's  sanctifying  grace,  much  of  the 
original  beauty  is  retrieved,  and  an  habitual  course  of 
devotion  and  piety  is  oft  seen  to  give  to  "  the  outer 
man"  a  heavenly  stamp,  the  mark  of  the  Lamb  in  the 
forehead.  Moses  brought  down  with  him  from  his  long 
communion  with  God  on  Sinai  a  face  that  shone  with 
glory.  And  the  council  as  they  looked  stedfastly  on 
Stephen  "  saw  his  face  as  it  had  been  the  face  of  an 
angel " — a  face  in  which  beamed  forth  angelic  sweet- 
ness and  dignity,  the  result  perhaps  of  a  special  baptism 
of  heavenly  fire  which  at  tliat  mor^e^t  came  upori  himt 


YOUTH.  105 

Nor  can  we  think  of  the  change  through  which  Saul  of 
Tarsus  passed  during  the  three  days  of  his  spiritual  birth, 
without  supposing  that  it  left  its  record  on  the  face  of 
the  Cilician  Israelite.  It  is  not  too  much  to  think  that 
the  fiery  gleam  of  his  dark  eye  and  the  hauteur  of  the 
young  persecutor's  countenance  were  among  the  "  old 
things/' all  of  which  ^'passed  away."  And  that  when 
he  became  numbered  with  the  ''•'  elect  of  God,  holy  and 
beloved,  and  put  on  bowels  of  mercies,  kindness  and 
long-suffering,"  there  came  up  also  over  his  noble 
countenance  a  softened  expression. 

Xone  who  will  be  able  to  recall  the  form  of  our  be- 
loved young  friend,  but  will  remember  that  there  was 
in  him  much  that  was  lovely  to  the  eye.  There  was  a 
"goodliness"  in  the  flower,  a  "grace"  in  "the  fashion 
of  it."  That  the  love  of  Christ  had  much  to  do  with 
this  I  have  no  doubt.  He  was  early  converted  to  God, 
and  being  in  possession  of  deep  and  sincere  piety,  the 
inward  life  of  God  gave  beauty  to  the  flower  which  has, 
alas,  now  faded  away  before  our  eyes.  If  he  had  con- 
tracted and  pursued  evil  habits,  like  many  other  young 
men,  the  beauty  of  the  flower  would  have  been  marred. 
We  should  not  have  seen  that  habitual  cheerfulness  which 
reigned  around  and  lighted  up  the  features  of  our  young 
friend,  for  it  sprang  from  the  peace  of  God.  We  should 
have  missed  that  well  known  openness  and  benevolence  of 
expression ;  for  it  was  produced  by  the  "  truth  and 
grace  "  which  were  in  him.  We  should  have  looked  in 
vain  for  that  purity  which  beamed  forth  in  him,  for 
that  was  the  result  of  sanctifying  love.  The  beauty  of 
this  faded  flower  was  the  "  beauty  of  holiness."  But  if 
the  flower  was  beautiful  here,  how  much  more  so  now  ? 
If  our  vision  could  follow  him  into  that  crowd  of  beau- 
teous forms  which  encircle  the  throne  of  God,  and  dis- 
tinguish  him   there,   surely   we  should  lind,  that  his 


106  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

change  has  greatly  heightened  his  loveliness.  It  is  im- 
possible for  us  to  understand  the  mighty  effect  produced 
upon  the  spirit  by  the  vision  of  God  our  Saviour  in  his 
glorified  form.  The  contemplation  of  Jesus  through  a 
glass  darkly,  is  transforming ;  how  much  more,  when 
with  unveiled  vision  we  gaze  on  ^'  the  king  in  his  beauty!" 

Our  brother  has  passed  away  from  us ;  gone  from  the 
holy  into  the  holiest ;  has  ^'  departed  to  be  with  Christ;" 
and  how  much  more  like  Christ  is  he  now  become  ? 
'*  We  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  isl" 
But  are  the  saints  with  Christ  as  soon  as  the  breath 
l^asses  away  from  their  nostrils  ? 

It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  be  prepared  to 
solve  all  the  mysteries  of  such  a  subject.  It  is  far  more 
important  and  appropriate  to  us  to  inquire  whether  the 
Scriptures  teach  the  existence  of  the  soul  in  the  separate 
state. 

1.  Look  at  the  representation  which  our  Lord  gives  of 
the  matter  in  the  case  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus.  '^  The 
beggar  died,  and  was  carried  by  the  angels  into  Abra- 
ham's bosom.  What  was  carried  by  the  angels  into 
Abraham's  bosom?  The  soul,  undoubtedly,  and  not  the 
body.  So  again  in  the  opposite  case — "  Tne  rich  man 
also  died,  and  was  huiHed  ;  and  in  hell  lifted  up  his  eyes 
being  in  torments."  The  body  found  a  resting-place  in 
some  ornamented  sepulchre,  but  the  soul  was  cast  into 
the  abyss  oi;  woe,  the  deep  grave  of  those  Avho  are  sepa- 
rated to  endless  death.  Here  it  is  evident  that  the  soul 
lived,  and  was  conscious  of  joy  in  the  one  case,  and  of 
torment  in  the  other,  immediately  after  death.  We 
draw  this  inference  from  this  portion  of  our  Lord's 
teaching  irrespective  of  any  interpretation  evidently 
adopted  for  the  sake  of  theory. 

2.  Again,  our  Lord's  reply  to  the  prayer  of  the  penitent 
thief  on   the    cross    agrees  with   the   foregoing   view, 


YOUTH.  107 

''Lord,  remember  me  when  thon  comest  into  thy  king- 
dom. And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Verily  I  say  unto  thee, 
To-day  slialt  tliou  he  with  me  in  paradise.^^  *'  To  day/' 
ere  thy  crucified  body  is  taken  down  from  the  cross, 
soon  as  the  mortal  struggle  is  over,  "thou  shalt  be  with 
me,  (whom  in  thy  last  hour  thou  hast  confessed  before 
men,)  in  paradise,"  I  shall  be  there,  to  receive  thee. 
*'  Paradise  "  is  thought  of  by  some  under  the  notion  of 
heaven's  ante-cliamher.  But  if  there  be  any  accuracy  in 
this  view,  it  is  an  ante-climnher  not  because  the  site  or 
locality  is  somewhere  short  of  the  Divine  presence  ;  but 
rather  on  the  ground  of  the  incomplete  and  expectant 
condition  of  the  saints  between  their  departure  and  the 
sound  of  the  "  trump  of  God."  "  Waiting,^''  (as  in  an 
ante-chamber,)  ''for  the  adoption,  to  Avit,  the  redemp- 
tion of  tlie  body,"  until  which  event  the  glory  and  the 
bliss  of  "the  heirs  of  God"  will  not  be  full. 

3.  With  this  agrees  Apostolic  Teaching.  ' '  Therefore, " 
says  St.  Paul,  ''  wo  arc  always  confident,  knowing  that 
whilst  we  are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from 
the  Lord—  (for  we  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight) — we 
are  confident,  I  say,  and  willing  rather  to  be  absent  from 
the  body  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord."  If  the  apos- 
tle's view  is  correct,  the  sanctified  soul  dwelling  in  the 
body  is  absent  from  the  Lord.  But  ceasing  to  dwell  in 
the  body  it  is  at  once  placed  in  the  presence  of  our  Lord  ; 
and  hence  elsewhere  he  expresses  "A  desire  to  depart 
and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better."  To  depart  and 
to  be  with  Christ  being  inseparable,  the  one  leading  at 
once  and  invariably  to  the  other. 

From  the  foregoing  considerations  wo  joyfully  infer 
that  holy  souls  enter  at  once  into  a  conscious  and  happy 
existence  upon  the  dissolution  of  the  frame  And  is  it 
not  in  accordance  with  this  truth,  we  read  of  "the 
i>])irits  of  Just  men  made  perfect,"  spirits  as  yet  without 


108  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

the  body.  Whatever  difficulty  therefore  may  appear  to 
us  in  conceiving  a  spirit's  existence  apart  from  a  mate- 
rial vehicle  ;  it  is  clearly  revealed  to  us  that  souls, 
whether  holy  or  unholy,  cease  not  to  exist  between  death 
and  the  resurrection  morn.  Let  us  therefore  feel  assured 
that  our  young  brother,  who  has  lately  left  us,  is  now  in 
the  enjoyment  of  a  conscious  and  blissful  existence. 
That  which  formed  the  seat  of  intelligence  and  holiness 
in  him  still  endures.  It  was  not  the  wasted  frame 
which  he  left  behind  him  that  thought  and  felt,  adored 
and  worshipped,  trusted  and  loved  Christ,  but  some- 
thing spiritual,  and  that  something  was  the  living  and 
loving  soul  which  still  lives,  and  shall  live  forever. 
And  if  we  divested  of  the  fleshy  veil  could  but  "see  him. 
as  he  is,"  we  should  find  the  spirit  of  this  just  young 
man  made  perfect,  beautiful,  and  radiant,  reflecting  the 
image  of  the  Son  of  God.  And  as  it  respects  its  old 
frail  companion  which  it  has  left  behind,  the  '^vile 
body,"  it  also  shall  rest  in  hope,  and  although  it  shall 
"'  see  corruption  "  yet  "  this  corruptible  shall  put  on  in- 
corruption."  0  what  a  glorious  change  shall  pass  upon 
the  dissolved  frame  when  glorious  and  beautiful,  like 
the  present  form  of  Him  who  loved  us,  it  shall  rise  from 
its  quiet  resting-place.  For  "  the  Lord  himself  shall  de- 
scend from  heaven,  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the 
archangel  and  with  the  trump  of  God,  and  the  dead  in 
Christ  shall  rise  first." 

"And  every  form,  and  every  face,  > 
Be  heavenly  and  divine." 

And  henceforth  the  flower  shall  have  more  even  than 
its  primeval  beauty  and  splendor. 

II.  But  though  beautiful  ''the  flower"  is  frail.     And 

this  is  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  it  stands  as  tlie  em- 
blem of  feeble  man.     The  withering  j^n-ass,  the  fragile 


tOVfS.  109 

flower  the  frailest  of  all  the  vegetable  productions  of  the 
earth  are  the  pictures  of  our  perishable  nature.  It  is  not 
the  tree  of  expansive  girt,  which  bears  up  under  the  re- 
peated strokes  of  the  ax,  not  the  sturdy  oak  which 
braves  the  rude  storms  of  centuries,  but  the  flower,  slen- 
der and  easily  injured,  which  trembles  even  in  the 
breeze,  is  prostrated  by  the  storm,  and  may  be  crushed 
by  the  foot  of  the  heedless  passenger.  Various  are  the 
means  by  which  the  life  of  the  flower  may  be  destroyed ; 
sometimes  it  is  cut  down  and  withereth  ; "  at  other 
times  it  is  nipped  by  the  cold  blast  and  perishes  ;  or  it  is 
seen  to  decay,  and  to  reach  its  destruction  by  a  gradual 
process,  because  a  worm  at  the  root  is  extracting  its  life. 
The  flower  is  easily  injured,  a  very  slight  thing  may 
prove  fatal  to  its  existence ;  such  also  is  man  ;  what 
trivial  causes  have  often  operated  to  the  destruction  of 
health  and  life.  What  innumerable  means  may  remove 
man  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

While  all  are  frail,  some  are  peculiarly  so ;  it  is  their 
lot  to  inherit  a  feeble  and  delicate  frame,  predisposed  to 
disease.  Tiiis  most  likely  was  the  case  with  our  la- 
mented friend.  He  was  a  lovely,  but  frail  flower  ;  and 
the  dreaded  consumption,  by  the  permission  of  God, 
fixed  its  fangs  in  the  frail  frame,  and  though  assailed 
by  medical  skill  and  effort,  never  relinquished  its  hold 
until  *^' the  precious  life"  was  destroyed,  ^^  Cease  ye 
from  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his  nostrils.  For  where- 
in is  he  to  be  accounted  for." 

III.  The  flower  is  short  lived.  All  flowers  are  not 
of  equal  duration  ;  some  perish  speedily,  but  none  of 
them  last  long ;  they  come  forth,  and  for  a  season  they 
please  us  with  their  gay  appearance  ;  but  by  and  by  we 
see  signs  of  decay.  The  flower  is  fading,  and  soon  the 
place  thereof  knows  it  no  more.  Tims  it  is  with  human 
beings.     Some  pi-rish  in  the  very  bud  of  their  existence, 


no  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

they  scarcely  peep  forth  above  the  soil  ere  they  arc 
Bwept  away  ;  others  live  to  develope  their  physical  and 
mental  properties  more  fully,  and  like  the  full  blown 
flower  are  cut  down  in  their  prime  ;  and  some  (thongh 
their  number  is  comparatively  small),  live  through  the 
usual  stages  of  human  life,  until  a  gradual  decay  of 
nature  brings  them  to  the  dust  of  death.  Yet  man,  at 
best,  like  the  flower  of  the  field  is  short  lived. 

Jacob  considered  his  days  few  whether  in  retrospect 
or  prospect  as  he  stood  a  bending  figure  on  the  brink 
of  the  unendiug  days  of  eternity.  The  words  of  the 
Psalmist  are  so  humbling,  that  the  lofty  looks  of  man 
are  at  once  brought  down  in  tlieir  presence,  and  the 
pride  of  tlie  heart  perishes  under  their  influence — 
*'Thou  hast  made  my  days  as  an  handbreadth,  and  mine 
age  is  as  nothing  before  thee."  Before  thee,  who  ^'art 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting."  It  is  in  comparison 
with  eternity,  with  infinite  duration,  that  our  life  on 
earth  shrinks  away  into  an  almost  inappreciable  point. 
0,  what  is  life,  onr  brief  life  on  earth,  in  comparison 
with  everlasting  existence  ?  How  short  a  period  must 
it  appear  when  looked  back  upon  from  the  eternal  world. 
How  small  must  *'the  span  of  life"  appear  to  our 
brother  now,  compared  with  that  unendiug  eternity  on 
which  he  has  entered.  Well  might  the  apostle  regard  it 
as  of  momentary  duration.  For  truly  it  is  no  more  in 
contrast  with  eternity ;  it  is  the  lightning  flasli,  we  are 
born,  we  live,  we  die,  and  how  quickly  do  these  im- 
portant facts  follow  each  other  in  our  history.  And  yet 
how  vastly  important  is  this  brief  23eriod  ;  inasmuch,  as 
during  it  alone  can  we  acquire  a  meetness  for  eternal 
glory.  Our  conduct  in  time  determines  our  condition 
for  eternity.  During  our  life's  short  day  we  acquire  a 
character  which  will  cleave  to  us  forever,  and  will  form 
to  us  a  source  of  endless  bliss  or  woe. 


rOUTH.  Ill 

IV.  There  is  fragrance  in  flowers,  and  much  more  in 
some  than  in  others.  The  scent  is  also  sweet  in  some, 
in  others  it  is  sickly  and  offensive.  Let  this  remind  us 
of  that  moral  influence  which  all  men  exert  more  or  less 
upon  others.  We  carry  with  us  in  all  our  movements  in 
human  society  an  influence  which,  like  the  fragrance  of 
the  flower,  always  surrounds  us.  This  is  less  in  some 
than  in  others.  Station,  talents,  wealth,  and  force  of 
character  may  give  to  some  greater  influence  than  others 
either  for  good  or  evil.  Yet  all  alike  have  a  measure  of 
influe::ce  ;  every  human  flower  scents  to  some  extent  the 
social  atmosphere.  In  some  the  influence  is  sweet,  re- 
viving, and  hallowing  ;  in  others  it  is  poisonous  and 
soul-destroying  ;  some  carry  God  with  them,  and  they 
diffuse  a  divine  influence  whithersoever  they  go  ;  others, 
alas !  carry  Satan  with  them  and  in  them,  and  by  their 
foul  and  foolish  talk,  and  *'  their  pernicious  ways,"  they 
corrupt  and  destroy.  Our  influence  while  under  the 
power  of  "  the  carnal  mind "  is  for  evil,  we  live  to 
alienate  men  from  God.  Until  possessed  of  decisive 
piety,  we  gather  not  to  Christ,  but  scatter  abroad,  keep 
souls  away  from  the  refuge  and  the  rest  of  guilty  man. 
But  when  the  flower  becomes  well  baptized  and  pene- 
trated with  the  dews  of  the  Spirit — when  the  breath  of 
the  Lord  passes  through  and  purifies  it,  then  its  poison- 
ous properties  are  destroyed,  and  it  ceases  to  send  forth 
its  deadly  exhalations.  Then  ''  if  we  live  we  live  unto 
the  Lord,  and  if  we  die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord,  living  or 
dying  we  are  the  Lord's." 

It  was  the  happiness  of  our  young  friend  to  have 
been  ''  born  of  God  "  at  an  early  period  of  life,  and  this 
blessed  change  prepared  him  to  exert  a  good  influence 
upon  those  with  whom  he  was  associated.  "When 
*' Christ"  became  *' formed  in  him,"  the  flower  sent 
forth  a  gracious  fragrance.     It  was  felt  by  the  young 


il2  MEMORIAL      TRIBUfm. 

men  with  whom  he  was  associated  in  business,  several  of 
whom  he  had  a  share  in  leading  to  salvation  while  he 
lived  in  the  establishment  from  wiiicli  he  retired  to  die. 
The  fragrance  of  a  flower  of ttimes  increases  in  dying. 
And  so  it  is  ^\\l\\  the  Christian  ;  as  he  approaches  his  end 
while  the  hand  of  death  is  upon  him,  he  exerts  a  more 
powerful  influence  than  through  life — ^^Go  into  the 
chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate,"  and  it 
seems  filled  with  heavenly  fragrance.  Very  obtuse  in- 
deed must  his  sensibilities  be  who  does  not  dee^^ly  feel 
the  influence  which  the  dying  Christian  diffuses  around 
his  death-bed.  It  is  at  once  perceived  and  felt  by  those 
who  are  spiritual.  A  solemn,  unearthly  influence  which 
awes  and  melts  the  heart.  It  was  oft  felt  by  those  who 
visited  our  young  brother  during  his   late  affliction — 

"  His  final  hour  brought  glory  to  his  God." 

V.  The  fading  of  the  flower  is  inevitable.  Perish  it 
must.  Place  it  in  the  most  favorable  position  and  yet 
you  cannot  preserve  it ;  seek  for  it  a  nook  where  it  shall 
be  sheltered  from  ^'the  wind's  unkindly  blast,"  as  well 
as  from  ^Hhe  sun's  directer  ray,"  and  yet  *^the  momen- 
tary glories  will  waste,  the  short  lived  beauties  will  die 
away;"  cover  it  with  glass,  train  and  shelter  it  in  the 
conservatory,  and  yet  you  cannot  long  conserve  its  frail 
life.  The  flower  after  all  your  care  will  perish.  How 
strictly  applicable  to  man  w^hose  death  is  no  less  certain 
than  the  fading  of  the  flower.  Attend  bo  health  with 
the  most  scrupulous  care,  surround  yourselves  with  all 
the  guards  against  disease  and  accident  which  human 
device  and  ingenuity  may  call  into  existence.  And  yet, 
after  all,  beyond  the  boundary  which  God  has  assigned 
to  us,  we  cannot  pass — *'For  is  there  not  an  appointed 
time  for  man  upon  the  earth  seeing  his  days  are  deter- 


YOVTM.  lis 

mined,  and  the  number  of  his  months  are  with  God!  He 
hath  set  him  his  bounds  that  he  cannot  pass."  The 
Great  Author  of  our  being  has  fixed  at  least  the  maxi- 
mum of  our  stay  on  earth.  Beyond  this  we  cannot  go  ; 
though,  alas  !  we  may  come  short  even  of  this.  Hence 
we  read  that  *^the  wicked  shall  not  live  out  half  his 
days."  The  death  of  the  flower  is  so  certain,  that  you 
can  name  a  period  when  you  know  it  shall  have  occurred; 
you  cannot,  it  is  true,  name  the  precise  moment  when 
the  last  particle  of  life  shall  have  left  the  flower ;  but  it 
would  be  an  easy  matter  for  you  to  name  a  time  when 
you  know  it  must  be  dead,  and  when  "the  place  thereof 
shall  know  it  no  more."  Even  so,  the  period  of  our  de- 
partures tons  unknown,  nothing  can  be  more  uncertain. 
The  time  and  the  circumstances  under  which  we  shall 
breathe  our  last  are  wisely  concealed  from  us ;  yet  it 
would  be  easy  to  name  a  time  when  not  one  of  us  shall 
be  left  on  earth.  The  days  of  our  years,  are  three  score 
years  and  ten  ;  and  if  by  reason  of  strength  they  be  four 
score  years,  yet  is  their  strength  then  but  labor  and  sor- 
row, so  soon  passeth  it  away  and  we  are  gone.  So  that 
each  may  say  with  Job  in  his  aflliction — '^  When  a  few 
years  are  come,  then  I  shall  go  the  way  whence  I  shall 
not  return." 

Lastly,  "The  flower  fadeth;  because  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  bloweth  upon  it."  The  meaning  is  "the  wind  of 
the  Lord  ; "  the  same  word  in  Hebrew  as  in  some  other 
languages,  having  the  signification  of  wind  and  of  spirit. 
Bishop  Lowth  renders  the  words  "  the  wind  of  Jehovah 
bloweth  upon  it."  The  allusion  is  doubtless  to  the  hot 
winds  which  prevail  in  the  east,  blasting  and  consuming 
every  green  thing  over  which  they  pass.  The  Psalmist 
evidently  alludes  to  this  hot  wind — (Psalm  ciii.  15,  16.) 
"As  a  flower  of  the  field,  so  he  flourisheth.  For  the  wind 


iu  Memohial   tributes. 

passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone ;  and  the  place  thereof 
shall  know  it  no  more." 

The  flower  fades  and  pei-ishes  when  a  wind  under  the 
control  and  direction  of  God  passeth  over  it.  And  thus 
would  we  connect  the  providence  of  God  with  the  re- 
moval of  our  young  brother,  whose  wasting  some  of  us 
have  watched  during  the  few  last  months.  If  ^*a  spar- 
row falleth  not  to  the  ground  without  our  Father,"  how 
much  less  can  a  Christian,  a  child  of  God,  be  smitten 
down  by  the  hand  of  death  without  his  cognizance  and 
permission  ?  *'  Precious  in  the  sight  of  the.  Lord  is  the 
death  of  his  saints,"  and  the  death  which  is  thus  '*pre- 
cious  "  in  his  sight  can  be  no  chance  work.  Hence  Job — 
'^  I  know  that  thou  wilt  bring  me  to  death,  and  to  the 
house  appointed  for  all  living ; "  thou  who  hast  the  keys 
of  death  and  of  Hades.  It  was  the  hand  of  a  Friend, 
his  Almighty  and  Everlasting  Friend,  that  led  our 
brother  down  to  his  quiet  resting  place  in  the  dust.  The 
consuming  disease  by  which  the  frame  was  wasted,  was 
only  the  wind  of  the  Lord  destroying  the  life  of  the 
flower.  "  He  shall  blow  upon  them,  and  they  shall 
wither." 

When  we  see  a  young  man  sicken  and  die,  as  the  re- 
sult of  a  cold,  over-exertion,  or  hereditary  tendency,  we 
are  in  danger  of  so  interpreting  the  whole  as  to  exclude 
the  immediate  and  special  providence  of  God.  But  we 
should  remember  that  God  veils  himself  behind  second- 
ary causes  ;  for  ^'  the  trial  of  our  faith,"  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  which  there  could  be  no  room,  if  he  worked 
manifestly  in  the  sight  of  our  eyes.  And  if  "  we  walk 
by  faith,  and  not  by  sight/'  we  shall  recognize  the  inter- 
ference of  an  allwise  God  in  the  removal  of  this  amiable 
and  useful  young  man,  from  whose  ashes  we  are 
endeavoring  to  extract  lessons  that  shall  fit  us  to  pass 
with    a  triumphant    courage   like    his,    'through   the 


TOUTH.  lis 

valley  of  the  shadow  of  death."  0  no,  lovely  youth,  it 
was  not  chance  that  removed  thee,  it  was  thy  Master's 
voice  that  said  unto  thee,  *'  It  is  enough ;  come  up 
hither !" 


IMMORTAL  LIFE. 

REV.  JAMES   SMITH. 

SOUTHWARK,  ENGLAND. 

**  Who  hatJi  abolished  death,  and  hath  brought  life  and  immortality 
to  light  through  the  Gospel. " — 2  Timothy  i  :  10. 

TMMOETALITY  naturally  and  essentially  belongs  to 
"God  alone,  and  that  is  said  by  the  apostle,  in  his 
first  epistle  to  Timothy,  referring  to  the  Eternal  One — 
'^who  only  hath  immortality,  &c."  And  in  another 
part  of  the  same  epistle,  we  find  him  celebrating 
Jehovah  as  the  immortal — ^'unto  the  King  eternal,  im- 
mortal, invisible,  the  only  wise  God."  God  is  naturally 
and  essentially  immortal,  but  immortality  does  not 
naturally  and  essentially  belong  to  any  creature. 

By  "Life  and  Immortality,"  in  the  language  of  the 
text,  we  simply  understand  immortal  life,  or  existence 
incapable  of  decay.  Adam  was  not,  in  the  sense  of  our 
text,  possessed  of  immortal  life — of  existence  incapable 
of  decay  ;  but  the  Gospel  has  brought  to  light  this 
glorious  fact,  that  there  is  an  existence  in  another  state, 
for  creatures  such  as  we  are,  incapable  of  decay. 

It  is  an  existence  without  sin  ;  for  in  sin  is  involved 
and  included  all  the  elements  of  destruction,  and  no- 
thing can  remove  the  elements  of  destruction,  but  the 
removal  of  sin.  The  state  of  existence,  to  which  we  are 
destined  as  believers  in  Christ,  is  a  state  of  existence 
without  sin  ;  when  all  that  is  intended  by  depravity,  and 
pollution,   and  corruption,  and   transgression,  shall  be 


iiC  Memorial   tribxttm, 

completely  done  away,  therefore  is  it  that  we  rejoice  in 

singing — 

"There  shall  we  see  His  face, 
And  never,  never  sin  ; 
There  from  the  rivers  of  His  grace, 
Drink  endless  pleasures  in." 

It  is  a  state  of  existence  without  sickness. 

And  as  a  matter  of  course,  there  will  be  no  pain. 

And  that  fear,  which  is  such  a  source  of  torment, 
will  be  done  away.  Frequently  a  little  matter  agitates, 
and  prevents  enjoyment  for  years  together  !  But  in  that 
state  of  existence,  which  is  *^  brought  to  light  by  the 
Gospel,"  there  will  be  no  cause  for  fear  ;  there  will  be 
nothing  that  will  cause  the  spirit  to  tremble,  or  the 
spirit  to  shrink. 

It  is  a  state  of  existence,  in  the  possession  of  all  that 
can  ennoble,  gratify,  and  delight.  Nothing  can  be  de- 
vised, which  can  be  conferred  upon  the  mind  or  body  of 
man,  that  will  not  be  conferred  upon  the  minds  and 
bodies  of  the  Lord's  people,  in  a  brighter  and  better 
state. 

"  Life  with  Holiness."  Holiness  is  the  principal  per- 
fection of  G-od's  nature,  so  holiness  will  be  the  principal 
characteristic  of  the  Lord's  people,  in  a  better  state. 
We  shall  be  then  in  the  possession  of  a  holy  nature,  sur- 
rounded by  a  holy  element,  in  company  with  holy 
society,  occupied  in  holy  employments. 

'^Life,"  with  knowledge;  for  immortal  life  stands 
virtually  in  connection  with  spiritual  knowledge.  "This 
is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  Thee,  the  only 
true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  Thou  hast  sent." 
Here  we  hear  of  Him,  and  think  of  Him,  and  speak  of 
Him,  but  there  we  shall  know  Him  in  another  and  a 


YOUTH.  117 

superior  manner  to  that  in  whicli  we  know  Him  at 
present. 

It  will  be  life,  with  peace  in  perfection,  and  life  in 
the  possession  of  joy  ;  and  all  the  future  will  be  the 
anticipation  of  perfect  satisfaction. 

It  is  life  with  God — we  shall  be  "^for  ever  with  the 
Lord" — life  in  the  presence,  life  in  the  possession,  and 
life  in  the  enjoyment  of  God.  It  is  said,  that  *^  our 
lives  are  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  and  that  when  Christ, 
who  is  our  life  shall  appear,  then  shall  we  also  appear 
with  Him  in  glory." 

It  is  life  of  the  most  perfect  kind,  in  the  highest 
degree.  The  highest  kind  of  life  will,  in  all  the  ex- 
perience of  the  Lord's  holy  ones,  be  wrought  up  to  the 
highest  degree  of  perfection,  and,  in  that  state,  it  will 
be  spent  to  reflect  His  honor,  to  perpetuate  the  glory  of 
His  grace,  and  for  the  honor  of  His  glorious  perfections, 
for  ever. 

In  other  words,  it  is  life  in  employment,  and  in  en- 
joyment. ^'  They  shall  serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His 
temple."  God  himself  shall  dwell  among  them,  and 
shall  be  their  God,  and  'Hhe  Lamb  which  is  in  midst  of 
the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto 
living  fountains  of  waters  ;  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  their  eyes." 

II.  We  notice  the  revelation  :  ^'Life  and  immortality 
are  hroiight  to  light  f^  intimating  that  immortal  life  was 
obscure  before. 

The  heathen  had  some  idea  of  a  state  of  immortal 
existence  for  the  soul,  but  not  for  the  body ;  although 
according  to  the  Gospel,  immortality  is  intended  for  the 
body  equally  with  the  soul.  Hence  we  have  those  sub- 
lime passages  in  the  fifteenth  of  the  first  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  where  the  apostle,  speaking  of  tlie  body, 
says,  in  the  forty-second  verse — "  Jt  is  so\yq  iu  corrup- 


118  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

tioii,  &c."  And  again,  in  tlie  fifty-second  verse  he  says, 
'^  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last 
trump  :  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall 
be  raised  incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be  changed,  &c." 
But  even  under  the  old  economy,  though  the  resurrec- 
tion was  know^n,  immortal  life  was  not  clearly  revealed, 
as  it  is  under  the  present  dispensation,  by  the  everlast- 
ing Gospel.  There  were,  as  in  the  sixteenth  Psalm, 
several  faint  intimations  of  a  glorious  and  happy  state  of 
existence  be\'ond  the  present ;  but  the  subject  was  never 
presented  in  so  clear  a  light,  as  it  was  by  Jesus  Christ. 
He  '^  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light." 

He  '^  brought  to  light,"  the  purpose  of  God,  which 
was  to  be  wrought  out  through  all  the  opposition  of  sin 
and  Satan,  and  of  man  under  their  influence,  that  He 
would  have  a  people  possess  an  immortal  existence  in- 
capable of  decay — a  life  of  the  highest  kind,  in  the  most 
perfect  degree  and  immortality  to  light." 

He  not  only  *' brought  to  light"  the  purpose,  but  the 
promise.  John  the  sixth  chapter  and  the  fortieth  verse 
—"This  is  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Me,  &c."  The 
will  of  God  is  this ;  that  everlasting  life  should  be  the 
possession  and  inheritance  of  every  one  that  believed  on 
Jesus  Christ,  and  placed  implicit  confidence  on  Him  for 
salvation  ;  and  he  is  to  be  "  raised  up  again  at  the  last 
day." 

He  not  only  ''brought  to  light"  the  promise,  but 
He  was  himself  the  example.  You  know  He  yielded  to 
the  death  upon  the  cross.  When  He  had  finished  the 
work,  He  shouted— ''It  is  finished;"  ''Father,  into 
Thy  hands  I  commend  My  spirit."  He  then  dropped 
His  sacred  head  upon  His  bosom,  and  "gave  up  the 
ghost."  He  v\'as  taken  down  by  Joseph  of  Arimathea, 
wrapped  in  linen  with  spices,  and  laid  in  the  sepulchre. 
There  He  lay  for  three  days  ;  but  on  the  third  morning 


70VTH.  119 

He  arose,  and  showed  our  feet  the  way.  He  came  forth 
in  the  possession  uf  immortal  life,  with  an  immortal 
body  and  an  immortal  soul.  There  was  an  immortal 
Person — there  was  the  head  and  representative  of  His 
Church,  tlie  substitute  and  surety  of  His  family,  step- 
ping from  a  prison  house,  liberating  from  Divine  justice, 
presenting  Himself  to  His  witnesses,  and  showing  them 
what  immortal  life  meant,  and  that  it  was  to  be  attained 
by  passing  through  the  dreary  prison-house  of  death. 
And  that  after  He  had  been  with  them  forty  days,  and 
had  instructed  them  in  the  things  pertaining  to  His 
kingdom.  He  led  them  to  Olivet,  and  there  pronounced 
His  parting  benediction,  and  there  ascended,  in  the 
presence  of  them  all,  and  was  received  with  a  welcome 
to  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  where  ''He  ever  liveth 
to  make  intercession  for  us." 

He  exhibited  eternal  life,  as  a  blessing  promised  to 
the  Church.  This  is  the  promise  which  He  hath 
promised — eternal  life,  which  includes  everything  else. 
Therefore,  if  God  has  promised  us  heaven.  He  has 
promised  us  all  which  is  necessary  to  take  us  to  heaven. 
''  This,"  says  the  apostle  John,  wath  emphasis — "this  is 
the  record,  that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life,  and 
this  life  is  in  His  Son." 

He  not  only  exhibited  it  to  us  as  a  blessing  promised, 
but  as  a  prize  to  be  gained ;  for  there  is  nothing  in  the 
Gospel  to  sanction  indolence.  Freely  given,  promised 
of  mere  grace,  yet  it  is  to  be  obtained  as  a  prize  ;  and 
therefore  we  find  the  apostle  thus  exhort  Timothy,  in 
the  preceding  epistle:  ''But  thou,  0  man  of  God,  flee 
these  things,"  (alluding  to  certain  evils,)  "and  follow 
after  righteousness,  godliness,  faith,  &c."  "  And  every 
man  that  strive th  for  the  mastery  is  temperate  in  all 
things.  Now  they  do  it  to  obtain  a  corruptible  crown  ; 
but  we  an  incorruptible," 


120  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

The  parallel.  The  apostle  drawing  the  parallel 
between  the  two  heads,  or  public  representatives,  in  the 
fifth  chapter  of  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  says  at  the 
twentieth  verse — "  Moreover  the  law  entered,  that  the 
oifence  might  abound.  But  where  sin  abounded,  grace 
did  much  more  abound  :  that,  &c."  Grace  is  upon  a 
throne,  grace  sways  a  sceptre,  and  the  design  of  the 
government  of  grace  is,  to  put  us  in  possession  of  eternal 
life. 

It  was  '*  brought  to  light,"  as  the  great  object  of 
hope,  upon  which  the  eye  of  hope  is  to  be  fixed,  from 
time  to  time.  And  what  made  primitive  Christians  so 
cheerful,  and  dauntless,  and  bold,  and  courageous,  was 
this:  they  'Svere  living"  (says  St.  Paul)  "in  hope  of 
eternal  life,  which  God  who  cannot  lie,  promised  before 
the  world  began."  Mercy  is  rei^resented  as  crowning 
with  eternal  life  the  beloved  family  ;  and  therefore  the 
apostle  Jude  says, — "'  But  ye,  behold,  building  up  your- 
selves on  your  most  holy  faith,  praying  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God,  looking  for 
the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal  life." 
*^The  wages  of  sin  is  death,  but  the  gift  of  God  is 
eternal  life,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

To  bring  "life  and  immortality  to  light,"  and  to  put 
us  in  possession  of  it,  was  the  great  end  of  His  mission  ; 
and  therefore,  speaking  figuratively,  in  the  tenth  chapter 
of  John  and  the  tenth  verse.  He  says — "The  thief 
Cometh  not,  but  for  to  steal,  and  to  kill,  and  to  destroy: 
I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life,  and  that  they 
might  have  it  more  abundantly."  '  I  am  come  to  put 
them  in  possession  of  immortal  life,  in  absolute  perfec- 
tion.' So  we  find  him  speaking  of  his  authority  and 
power,  in  the  seventeenth  of  John  and  the  second  verse 
— •"  As  Thou  hast  given  Him  power  over  all  flesh,  that 
lie  should  give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as  Thou  hast  giv- 


TOVTH.  121 

en  Him."  He  has,  therefore,  ^'brought  life  and  im- 
mortality," or  immortal  life,  'Ho  light." 

III.  The  means,  by  which  this  blessing  ib  •'*  brought 
to  light,"  is  "the  Gospel."  In  one  view  of  it,  the  Gospel 
is  a  kind  of  telescope,  without  which  it  is  impossible 
to  look  so  far  into  the  distance,  as  to  see  immortal  life. 
There  it  is  in  the  distance,  but  our  faculties  are  so 
weakened  by  sin,  and  the  mists  of  ignorance  have  so 
gathered  between  us  and  it,  that  it  is  necessary  there 
should  be  something  to  bring  the  mind's  eye  into  contact 
with  it.  The  Gospel  is  that  something.  It  brings  the 
subject  near,  just  in  the  same  way  as  a  telescope  seems 
to  bring  the  distant  object  near  ;  so  that  we  can  look  at 
it,  gaze  upon  it,  examine  it,  admire  it,  and  enjoy  it. 
''The  grace  of  God  hath  appeared."  Bursting  forth, 
like  the  sun  from  behind  a  cloud,  it  shone  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  immortal  life  ;  and  we  can  now  perceive  it,  and 
perceive  it  to  be  attainable  by  us,  so  that  we  may  press 
on  towards  it,  and  anticipate  a  complete  enjoyment  of 
it.  He  *'hath  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light, 
by  the  Gospel." 

The  Gospel  brings  "  life  and  immortality  to  light," 
because  it  shows  us  how  we  may  get  rid  of  sin,  the  cause 
of  death.  Man  may  get  rid  of  the  guilt  of  sin,  by  the  pre- 
cious, perfect,  infinite  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ  ;  he 
may  get  rid  of  the  pollution  of  sin,  by  the  application 
of  the  truth,  and  the  indwelling  and  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  heart.  It  tells  him  how  sin  may  be  par- 
doned, how  pardoned  sin  may  be  subdued,  how  subdued 
sin  may  be  eradicated,  and  how  the  person,  over  wiiom 
it  once  reigned,  may  be  released  from  the  dominion  of 
it  for  ever. 

The  Gospel  not  only  tells  how  we  may  get  rid  of  sin, 
the  cause  of  death,  but  how  we  may  obtain  justification, 
the  tide  to  life.  It  presents  Jesus  to  us^  as  the  glori- 
6 


122  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

fied  Saviour,  and  says — '^Through  this  man  is  preached 
unto  you  the  forgiveness  of  sin:  and  by  Him,  all  that 
believe  are  justified  from  all  things,  from  which  they 
could  not  be  justified  by  the  law  of  Moses." 

It  informs  us  how  lue  may  surmount  every  obstacle 
that  would  keep  us  from  the  possession  and  enjoyment 
of  it.  It  brings  to  our  help  the  power  of  God,  the  wis- 
dom of  God,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  in  other  words,  it 
presents  to  us  the  Saviour,  in  all  His  fulness,  and  tells 
us  how  to  every  believer  in  Him  He  "  is  made  wisdom, 
and  righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  redemption." 

The  Gospel  informs  us,  that  although  at  present  death 
looks  on  us,  and  is  all  around  us,  yet  we  may  be  raised 
into  another  atmosphere,  the  very  opposite  to  the  pre- 
sent;  and  therefore  it  is  said,  in  Romans  v.  17 — ^'For 
if  by  one  man's  offense  death  reigned  by  one  ;  much 
more  &c."— ''Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will 
give  thee  a  croAvn  of  life." 

So  it  is  to  be  immortal  life,  and  everything  immortal 
around  us.  The  crown  we  v/ear,  the  robes  with  Avhich 
we  are  decked,  the  palms  we  wave,  the  tree  on  which  we 
feed,  and  the  river  from  which  we  drink,  are  all  im- 
mortal. He  'Miath  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light,"  for  he  hath  brought  immortal  life  to  light,  ''by 
the  Gospel." 

We  have  thus  very  hastily  run  over  our  subject, 
having  presented  but  a  mere  outline,  for  your  meditation. 
There  is  in  it  a  depth,  a  grandeur,  a  glory,  which  we 
confess  we  cannot  reach,  much  less  set  before  you  in  a 
brief  discourse,  like  the  present.  Our  young  friend 
knows  more  of  it  than  we  do  ;  for  though  her  body 
slumbers  in  yonder  grave-yard,  where  we  recently  placed 
it,  her  immortal  spirit  shines  before  the  eternal  throne, 
and  knows  something  of  what  immortality  pervading, 
olothing,  and  filling  the  immortal  mind  of  man  is, 


YOUTH.  123 

1  have  a  brief  account  of  the  departed  to  read  to  you 
upon  the  present  occasion,  communicated  partly  by  her- 
self, and  partly  by  those  who  knew  her  best. 

"  Our  young  friend,  whose  death  has  brought  us  to 
gether  was  the  only  child  of  godly  parents.  She  was 
from  early  childhood  of  a  dutiful,  and  affectionate  dis- 
position." 

''  She  was   naturally  very  quiet  and  reserved  in  her 
manners.     She  was  the  subject  of  serious  impressions, 
when  quite  young  ;  but  it  was  chiefly  by  the  school  at 
Amersham,  through  her  teacher's  affectionate  addresses 
to  her,  and  fervent  prayers  with  her,  that  she  was  led 
to  see  her  real  condition,  as  a  sinner,  in  the  sight  oi 
God,  and  to  flee   to  the  Lord  Jesus   Christ  for  refuge. 
The  things  of  God  had  engaged  much  of  her  attention, 
through  the  last  few  years,  and  as  she  fully  expected  tc 
reside  in  London,  she  proposed  herself  to  the  church  o/ 
Christ  in  this  place,  and  was  publicly  united  to  Christ, 
in    baptism,    on  the   twenty-second   of    February   last. 
Early  in  September,  she  was  taken  seriously  ill,  and  felt 
persuaded  that  it  w^ould  be  unto  death  ;  but  she  felt  no 
fear,  she  experienced  no  alarm,  for  she  knew  Him  who 
is  'the  resurrection  and  the  life.'     She  had  familiarized 
herself  wath   death  by  meditation  upon  it,  and  by  the 
frequent  approach  of  it  to  her  friends.     While  sensible 
she  was  exceedingly  happy  in  her  mind,  rejoicing  that 
she  had  fixed  her  hope  on  Jesus,  and  on  Him  alone. 
Spiritual  hymns  had  for  some  time  engaged  her  atten- 
tion, in  an  unusual  manner  ;  and  after  returning  from 
the  means  of  grace  the  last  time,  she  felt  extraordinarily 
filled    with  joy  and  peace,  which  led  her  to  talk  very 
seriously  to  the  servant,  to  read  the  Word  of  God  to  her, 
and  then,  (which  she  bad  never  done  before,)  to  pray 
with  her.     She  had  never  been  knowm  to  pray  with  any 
oncj  until  that  evening.     In  private  she  had  constantly 


124  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

poured  out  her  soul  to  God,  but  her  youth,  and  her  dif- 
fidence had  kept  her  back  from  praying  with  any  one 
else  before.  To  her  mother  she  said — *  I  am  not  sorry 
that  I  made  an  open  profession  when  I  did,  but  I  feel 
thankful  that  1  showed  to  the  world  that  I  am  on  the 
Lord's  side.'" 

My  young  friends,  these  things  speak  to  yoii.  It 
was  said  of  our  departed  friend,  of  whom  I  have  been 
speaking,  that  she  ventured  her  soul  on  Christ ;  and  if 
you  do  not,  you  are  eternally  undone.  There  i.s  no  one 
that  can  bear  you  up  on  a  dying  bed,  when  death  has 
begun  his  work,  but  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  for  *' there  is  sal- 
vation in  none  other  ;"  ^Hhere  is  no  other  name  under 
heaven,  given  among  men,  whereby  you  must  be  saved." 

It  was  said  again,  that  on  her  dying  pillow,  our 
departed  friend  said — "  I  am  glad  I  professed  Christ 
when  I  did — that  I  told  the  world  on  whose  side  I  was." 
Are  there  any  of  our  young  friends  present,  who  are 
believers,  but  have  never  confessed  it  ?  Are  there  any, 
who  do  love  Christ,  but  have  never  professed  Him  ? 
We  have  known  those,  who  have  regretted  that  they 
have  neglected  it  in  health,  when  lying  upon  a  bed  of 
sickness.  Our  young  friend  did  not  neglect  it.  We  say, 
therefore,  to  you,  undecided  ones,  decide,  and  let  your 
decision  be  noio ;  and  we  say  to  you  all— -'Be  ye  also 
ready."  Live  for  eternity,  and  not  for  time  ;  ''for  in 
such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of  man  cometli." 
Immortal  life  is  ''brought  to  light."  But  will  you 
possess  it  ?  will  you  enter  into  it  ?  are  you  seeking 
"glory,  honor,  immortality,  and  eternal  life  ?" 


"I  MAY  sometimes  tremble  on  the  rock,  but,  blessed 
be  the  Lord,  tiic  rock  never  trembles  under  me," 


YOUTB,  126 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  DESIRE. 

EEY.  FRANCIS  ELLABT,  B.A. 

ON    THE    DEATH    OP    MISS   ,    AGED    22    SEVEN    DIALS,    LONDON. 

"  Lord,  make  me  to  know  mine  end,  and  tlie  measure  of  my  days, 
what  it  is;  that  1  may  know  lio7o  frail  1  am.'' — Psalm  xxxix:  4. 

npHERE  is  an  embarrassing  uncertainty  attending  all 
human  affairs.  It  is  as  true  in  man's  experience, 
as  it  is  in  the  record  of  Scripture,  ''  We  know  not  what 
a  day  may  bring  forth."  To-day  all  may  be  joy ;  to- 
morroio  some  sad  event  occurs,  and  overwhelms  the  whole 
with  sorrow: — to-day  all  is  gay  and  exhilarating  as  sum- 
mer; to-morroiu,  all  is  dull  and  depressing  as  winter  :  a 
man  may  have  much  treasure  laid  up  in  a  store ;  but  by 
a  sudden  reverse,  he  may  be  deprived  of  the  whole,  and 
impoverished,  and  ruined  :  to-day,  his  children  sur- 
round his  board,  and  he  is  happy  with  the  partner  of  his 
joys  and  sorrows,  in  the  enjoyment  of  domestic  bliss ; 
to-morroiu,  sad  truth  !  brings  evil  tidings,  he  is  either 
childless  or  widowed.  That  which  a  man  has  least  rea- 
son to  expect,  too  often  comes  ;  or  with  Job,  he  may 
have  to  say,  "The  thing  which  I  greatly  feared  is  come 
upon  mCj  and  that  which  I  was  afraid  of,  is  come  unto 
me."  Powerty  in  place  of  affluence — enmity  for  friend- 
ship— sorrow  for  gladness — pain  for  ease — sickness  for 
health,  or  death  for  life  !  Transitions  these  to  which 
all  are  liable ;  circumstances  with  which  many  are  but 
too  well  acquainted,  and  one  of  which,  at  least,  will, 
sooner  or  later,  be  the  portion  of  all.  '^It  is  appointed 
unto  all  men,  once  to  die.''  "  Is  there  not  an  appointed 
time  to  man  upon  earth  are  not  his  days  also  like  the 
days  of  an  hireling  ? 

And  if  these   things  be  true,  shall  we  not  do  well  if 
we  adopt  the  words  of  the  text,  for  poi->ou;il  and  eon- 


1S6  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

stant  meditation?  ^^Lord,  make  me  to  know  mine 
end,  and  the  measure  of  my  days,  what  it  is;  that  I  know 
how  frail  I  am." 

I.  The  text,  contains  : 

1.  A  desire  to  be  instructed  of  the  Lord,  in  order 
that  he  might  obtain  a  sure  knowledge  of  a  peaceful  end. 
^'  Lord,  make  me  to  hnoiv  mine  endP 

%.  A  desire  to  have  impressed  upon  the  mind  an 
abiding  sense  of  the  shortness  of  life.  To  keep  the  man 
from  folly,  from  the  vain  gratification  of  the  senses, 
from  a  wasteful  expenditure,  from  the  misimprovemeut 
of  time,  and  especially,  from  an  untimely  end.  "  Lord, 
make  me  to  know  mine  end,  and  the  measure  of  my  days, 
what  it  is.'^  This  knowledge  seems  to  have  been  granted, 
so  far  as  it  could  be  profitably  or  safely  possessed.  Ver. 
5.  *'  Behold,  thou  hast  made  my  days  as  an  handbreadth, 
and  my  age  is  as  nothing  before  tliee ;  verily,  every  man 
m  his  best  state,  is  altogether  vanity." 

3.  A  desire  to  know  the  worst  of  himself.  ^'^That 
I  may  know  lioio  frail  I  amP  My  mortality,  the  frail 
tenure  of  my  existence: — my  depravity,  the  depth  of 
iniquity  concealed  within,  and  working  my  ruin: — my 
weakness,  that  I  may  be  convinced  of  the  folly  of  trust- 
ing in  an  arm  of  flesh,  and  my  deep  need  of  a  Saviour 
in  whom  to  trust,  omnipotent  and  willing  to  save. 

But  Scripture  is  best  interpreted  by  Scripture  ;  and 
[would  refer  you  to  Psal.  xc.  12.  "So  teach  us  to 
number  our  days,  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto 
tvisdom  !" — Wisdom,  to  guide  us  through  the  dreary 
paths  of  life  : — wisdom,  the  word  of  truth  profitable  to 
direct : — wisdom,  the  Messiah,  "  the  Lord  our  Righ- 
teousness ;"  our  Immaxuel,  our  loving  friend  ''made 
unto  us  wisdom,^^  &c.  For  it  is  thus  that  in  accordance 
with,  and  not  in  opposition  to  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the 
glory  of  God,"  every  Christian  may  say,  "  Lord,  make  me 


YOUTH.  127 

to  know  my  end,  and  the  measure  of  my  days,  what  it 
is  ;  that  /may  know  liow  frail  I  am." 

11.  Let  me  exemplify  the  practical  excellence  of  the 
text,  by  noticing  the  experience  and  conduct  of  our  de- 
parted friend.  The  practical  excellence  of  the  j^rinciples 
in  the  text  was  exemplified. 

1.  By  her  clierisliing  a  conviction  that  her  end  was 
near.  She  new  the  weakness  of  her  frame  ;  she  remem- 
bered that  she  was  but  dust.  She  felt  the  power  of  that 
word  of  God,  and  therefore  believed  in  it — "  Your  life 
is  even  a  vapor  that  appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then 
vanisheth  away."  In  the  morning,  we  grow  up  as  the 
grass,  and  appear  flourishing,  but  in  the  evening,  nay, 
before  the  mid-day  of  life,  we  are  many  of  us  cut  down, 
and,  like  it,  dried  up  and  withered.  It  is  not  remarkable, 
therefore,  that  she  should  say  on  leaving  town,  with 
feelings  better  to  be  imagined  than  described,  *'  I  shall 
not  again  return  ;  I  shall  never  see  you  more."  She  was 
not  one  of  the  many  who  make  this  earth  the  j^lace  of 
their  joy,  and  desire  no  higher  happiness  ;  but  one  of 
the  thoughtful  and  devout  few,  who  are  not  averse  to 
the  contemplation  of  death,  nor  unwilling  to  cherish  the 
conviction  that  their  end  is  near. 

2.  By  her  anxiety  to  he  prejoared  for  a  happy  end. 
With  her,  religion  was  not  a  mere  form  :  it  was  not  at- 
tended to  from  the  prevalence  of  custom,  or  as  a  means 
of  gaining  reputation,  nor  was  it,  in  her  estimation,  of 
secondary  import,  She  regarded  it  as  the  one  thing 
needful," — as  the  first  and  "  principal  thing  ;"  and  she 
entered  into  it  with  all  her  might,  convinced  that  there 
was  no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in 
the  grave  whither  she  was  hastening.  ' '  Private  devotion 
she  never  neglected.  In  family  and  social  prayer  she 
readily  and  fervently  joined.  The  House  of  God  was 
the  place  of  her  joy.     The  Lord's  day  she  hailed  with 


l^S  MEMOniAL      TRIBtTTES. 

sacred  delight,  iind  listened  to  his  word  with  prayerful 
attention."  She  desired  to  yield  obedience  to  the 
Saviour's  command,  '^Do  this  in  remembrance  of 
me  ; "  to  approach  his  table  in  the  spirit  of  a  true  dis- 
ciple. And  to  her,  it  was  a  holy  feast,  an  antepast  of 
heaven. 

3.  By  her  firm  reliance  on  the  merits  of  the  Kedeemer. 
She  was  conyinced  of  her  frailty,  and  felt  deeply  her  need 
of  the  divine  aid  to  lead  her  to  the  Saviour  ;  and  her 
deep  need  also  of  the  application  of  his  merits — his  blood 
to  cleanse — his  righteousness  to  justify.  Happy  for  her, 
she  '^knew  who  she  liad  believed,  and  Avas  fully  per- 
suaded that  he  was  able  to  keep  that  she  had  committed 
to  Him  against  the  great  day,"  and  could  wholly  depend 
upon  him.  When,  therefore,  her  medical  attendant  in- 
quired if  she  was  building  her  hope  of  salvation  on  any 
righteousness  of  her  own,  she  answered,  '^ISTone  but 
Christ  !  " 

When  she  perceived  the  attentions  which  lier  friends 
were  so  forward  to  pay  her,  the  love  of  Christ  so  sweetly 
constrained  her,  and  enabled  her  to  appreciate  such  work, 
that  she  said,  ''Even  Job  in  all  his  affliction,  had  not 
attention  such  as  this  ! "  And  when  they  lamented  her 
extreme  sufferings,  which  they  had  no  power  to  avert, 
she  said,  "  Nothing  to  what  my  sins  deserve."  This  was 
a  striking  proof  of  her  humility.  And  then,  forgetting 
all  for  Christ  she  added,  ''Christ  is  precious  !  Christ 
is  precious  !  " 

There  was  nothing  of  indifference,  but  a  cleaving  to 
Him  by  faith,  who  is  mighty  and  able  to  save;  an 
earnest  supplication  in  reliance  on  his  merits,  and  a  joy 
in  Him  as  superlatively  precious  !  Christ  was 

*' Her  theme,  her  inspiration,  and  her  crown  ; 
Her  light  in  darkness,  and  her  life  in  death  I" 


rouTB.  m 

4.  By  Iter  resignation,  willingness,  and  desire  to 
depart.  In  making  this  statement,  however,  we  do  not 
mean  to  disguise  that  she  was  the  subject  of  many  fears, 
that  the  enemy  of  souls  tlirust  sore  at  her,  and  that  she 
]iad  hours  of  darkness  and  heaviness  during  her  painful 
affliction.  On  the  contrary,  we  are  ha])py  to  make 
them  known,  because  from  them  we  gain  confidence  that 
all  is  well.  Had  there  been  no  conflicts,  no  exertion  of 
the  powers  of  darkness,  there  might  have  been  no  work 
of  the  Spirit  ;  but  since  there  were  the  former,  and  she 
triumphed  over  them,  we  doubt  not  that  her  tri-umph 
was  the  effect  of  the  latter,  and  we  have  reason  to  give 
glory  to  Him,  who  by  his  Spirit  made  her  more  than 
conqueror.  As  a  proof  of  this,  she  said  at  one  period, 
*'My  fears  are  all  gone;  I  have  built  my  hope  on 
Christ,  and  can  leave  all  to  him." 

Patience  and  resignation  shone  conspicuously  in  all 
her  words  and  in  her  whole  deportment ;  and  these 
wrought  so  effectually  to  her  peace  and  comfort  of  mind, 
that  through  a  night  of  uncommon  suffering,  she  had 
such  sweet  composure,  that  she  was  able  to  be  much  in 
prayer,  and  was  often  heard  to  say,  ''Heavenly  Father, 
talce  me  liome  V 

Her  pious  medical  friend  said,  ^^To  depart  and  to  be 
with  Christ  is  far  better."  She  answered,  **That  is 
what  I  want ;  I  long  to  be  gone." 

'^And  her  last  words  were,  "Come,  Lord  Jesus, 
Lord  Jesus  !" 

And  now,  desiring  above  all  things  that  divine  grace 
may  work  effectually  in  all  your  hearts,  and  constrain  you 
to  follow  her  as  she  followed  Christ,  we  exhort  you, 

1.   To  adopt  the  sentiments  of  the  text  for  practical 
and  holy  purposes.     As  individuals  say — "Lord,  make 
me  to  know  mine  end,"  &c. 
G* 


130  MEMORIAL     TRTBtJTm. 

2.  Not  to  cause  a  gloomy  appreliension  of  death,  hut 
to  inspire  a  cheerful  hope  that  death  will  he  gain. 

And  in  this  expectation,  and  in  the  hope  that  we 
shall  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord,  we  exhort,  we  entreat, 
we  enjoin  you  to  '^comfort  one  another  with  these 
words." 

And,  finally,  we  exhort  you  all  to  7neditate  on  the 
loork  of  Christ.  This  afforded  comfort  to  our  departed 
friend.  His  work  as  a  Redeemer,  Mediator,  and  Inter- 
cessor— his  power  to  deliver — his  willingness  to  save, 
afforded  her  comfort,  and  peace,  and  assurance  in  death. 

Believe  in  him — trust  in  him — love  him — serve  him. 
Then,  living,  you  will  live  unto  the  Lord,  and  dying, 
you  shall  be  for  ever  his. 


PIETY  IN  HUMBLE  LIFE. 

REV.  A.  E.  LORD. 

IN  THE  CONGREGATIONAL  CHAPEL,  HERSHAM,  NEAR  ESHER,  ENGLAND. 
ON  THE  DECEASE  OF  A  YOUTHFUL  MEMBER  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

*'Hamng  a  desire  to  depart,   and  to  he  with  Christ,  which  is  far 
better." — Phillippians  i :  23. 

npHESE  words  meet  our  notice,  in  the  vicinity  of  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  passages  in  the  apostolic 
writings.  The  circumstances  in  which  the  apostle  was 
placed  when  he  wrote  them,  were  peculiar.  He  had 
been  arrested  in  his  seraphic  course  of  service,  by  the 
strong  arm  of  law,  and  had  become  in  consequence  an 
inmate  of  the  prison-house  at  Rome. 

To  many  of  the  churches  which  he  had  planted,  this 
providence  seemed  distressing  and  mysterious.  They 
fainted  at  his  tribulation.  His  faith,  however,  did  not 
fail  him,  for  he  knew  that  whether  he  was  destined  for 


YOUTH.  181 

life  or  for  death,  *' Christ  would  be  magnified  in  him  ;" 
"for  to  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain."  He 
confesses  that  he  felt  himself  under  the  pressure  of  two 
opposite  princijDles.  There  was  a  desire  to  live,  and  yet 
a  desire  to  depart,  and  which  to  choose  he  knew  not  : 
^'^  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two."  Life,  in  his  estimation, 
was  a  valuable  thing  ;  and,  inasmuch  as  it  presented 
opportunities  to  promote  the  glory  of  the  Saviour  in  the 
redemption  of  man,  it  was  to  him  exceedingly  desir- 
able ;  yet  still,  he  could  not  resist  flie  conviction,  that 
"  to  depart  was  far  better,"  because  his  departure  would 
give  him  immediate  introduction  to  the  society  of  Christ, 
the  supreme  object  of  his  heart's  love.  "I  have  a  de- 
sire to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ, wiiich  is  far  better." 

I.  The  apostle's  view  of  death  first  claims  our  attention. 
He  calls  it  a  ^* departure.''^  In  like  manner  he  speaks  of 
it  in  his  letter  to  Timothy.  ''The  time  of  my  depar- 
ture is  at  hand."  Thus  also  good  old  Simeon  regardo'i 
it,  when  he  said,  "Lord,  now  lettest  Thou  tiiy  servant 
depart  in  peace." 

The  original  word  contains  a  nautical  figure,  and 
refers  to  a  ship  riding  at  anclior,  the  wind  in  the  mean- 
time threatening  to  loose  it  from  its  moorings,  and  to 
drive  it  out  to  sea.  The  apostle  desired  to  weigh 
anchor,  to  be  unbound,  and  to  set  sail  for  the  haven  of 
eternal  rest. 

i\.Tn[  first,  we  may  regard  the  apostle  as  referring  to 
the  departure  of  his  spirit  from  the  hody — ''  /  have  a 
desire  to  depart."  In  the  previous  verse  he  says,  ''/ 
live  in  the  flesh."  The  distinction  he  makes,  between 
himself  and  his  body,  is  very  remarkable,  and  conveys 
to  our  mind  a  sublime  and  beautiful  truth.  The  "I" 
in  which  the  apostle  recognizes  his  real  self,  he  does  not 
confound  with  his  fiesh — "I  live  i}i  the  flesh."  The 
soul  is  the  gem,  the  body  is   the   casket ;  and    thougii 


132  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

both  are  essential  to  humanity,  yet  they  are  distinct. 
Properly  speaking,  the  mind  is  the  man — the  "I,"  the 
real  self.  To  a  thoughtful  mind  it  is  pleasing  to  observe 
how  beautifully  this  great  philosophical  truth  is 
recognized  by  the  sacred  writers. 

"In  my  flesh  shall  /  see  God."  The  patriarch  does 
not  confound  the  mortal  with  the  immortal — the 
adjunct  of  humanity  with  its  essence.  "  l^e,"  says  the 
apostle  Paul,  'S'tre  m  this  tabernacle."  To  confound 
the  body  with  our  real  self  is  much  the  same  as  if  a  man 
should  confound  a  tent  with  the  occupant,  "/am  in 
this  tabernacle,"  says  the  apostle  Peter.  "My  body  is 
not  myself,  it  is  my  residence — a  residence  not  built  of 
marble  and  founded  on  a  rock,  but  a  tent,  which  rock- 
ing in  every  breeze,  is  destined  to  come  down  at  the  fiat 
of  Almighty  God." 

Viewing  then  the  soul  in  this  close  connection  with 
the  body,  as  "  living  in  the  flesh,"  the  apostle  regarded 
death  as  a  "departure"  of  the  soul  from  its  residence — 
as  a  loosing  of  his  spirit  from  the  anchor  in  which  mor- 
tality had  held  it  for  so  many  years.  And  who  can 
wonder  that  a  mind,  ripened  under  the  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  should  be  "  willing  to  be  absent  from  the 
body,  that  it  may  be  present  with  the  Lord  ?"  In  these 
frail  tabernacles  how  many  sins  have  been  committed — 
how  man  sorrows  endured  !  The  "flesh"  has  contracted 
much  defilement,  and  "the  spirit"  has  wailed  under 
many  burdens.  "  We  that  are  in  this  tabernacle  do 
groan  being  burdened."  How  many  times  has  the  body 
been  pressed  under  sickness  !  How  numerous  have  been 
its  exposures  to  death,  and  how  agonizing  have  been  its 
pains  !  What  griefs  have  been  experienced  from  burn- 
ing fevers,  paralyzed  limbs,  inward  tumors,  dyspepsia, 
consumption,  and  a  thousand  other  things  !  What 
showers  of  tears  have  fallen  from  the  eyes  even  of  re- 


YOUTH.  133 

deemed  humanity  !  The  home  of  the  body  is  far  from  a 
hajopy  one  ;  and  therefore  we  cannot  wonder  that  when 
the  soul  has  a  prospect  of  '^a  mansion,  eternal  in  the 
heavens/'  it  should  cherish  ''^the  desire  to  depart." 

It  is  important,  however  to  remark,  that  the  aspira- 
tion is  that  of  renewed  humanity  only.  The  mind  un- 
changed has  no  desire  to  depart.  Its  requires  His  Avis- 
dem.  His  power,  and  His  grace,  to  bring  the  soul  to  this 
temper  and  to  this  frame 

Secondly.  We  regard  the  apostle  as  referring  to  his 
departure  from  the  present  world.  ''1  have  a  desire  to 
depart." 

Viewed  as  the  workmanship  of  God,  this  world  un- 
questionably presented  many  attractions  to  the  apostle's 
mind.  His  fine  eye,  and  cultivated  taste,  would  regard 
creation  as  a  sublime  poem  ;  and  many  a  passage  which 
portrayed  the  eternal  power  and  Godhead,  would  be 
read  by  him  with  exquisite  delight.  It  is  admitted  too 
that  this  world  has  many  sublime  reminiscences.  It  is 
a  wonderful  world  !  Here  Christ  lived,  labored,  and 
died  for  the  redem})tion  of  humanity.  Here  apostles 
fought  the  great  battle  of  life,  and  made  their  way  to 
the  martyr's  crown.  Here  too  we  received  those  impres- 
sions of  the  world  to  come  which  first  drew  our  affec- 
tions from  the  things  of  earth.  And,  all  these  reminis- 
cences give  a  charm  to  the  present  world  which  may 
well  make  us  willing  to  live.  Yet  still,  a  noble, 
spiritual  mind  will  give  the  preference  to  departure. 

In  this  world  there  are  many  drawbacks  upon  a 
Christian's  happiness.  Even  in  the  physical  tuorld,  it  is 
not  true,  that  ''every  prospect  pleases."  When  nature 
blooms  in  paradisaic  beauty,  the  poet's  conception  enlists 
our  concurrence  as  to  its  accuracy.  But  there  are  times 
when  mist  and  blight  assail  the  scenery  of  earth — times 
when  storms  and  tempests  sprend   i;prriblo  devast;ir,iou 


134  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

upon  the  prospects  which  have  pleased  our  eye — times 
when  darkness  covers  the  earth  and  jeopaidizes  our 
safety.  But  heaven  will  be  a  perfect  paradise.  Not  a 
vestige  of  the  curse  will  remain.  ''And  there  shall  be 
no  night  there."  In  that  world  every  prospect  pleases, 
and  not  even  man  is  vile,  for  there  humanity  is  trans- 
formed into  the  image  of  the  Son  of  God.  ''The 
spirits  of  the  just  are  m?idiQ  perfect'^  Comparing,  then, 
the  physical  attractions  of  this  world  Avith  those  of 
heaven,  we  need  not  wonder  that  the  Christian  cherishes 
"a  desire  to  depart." 

Our  social  circles  too  present  many  drawbacks  to 
perfect  bliss.  Sorrows  present  themselves  in  a  thousand 
forms.  Afflictions  crowd  upon  our  path.  Death  enters 
our  windows.  Loved  ones  are  prostrated  by  the  blow  of 
God's  hand.  Emaciated  forms  arouse  our  tenderest 
sympathies,  and  their  cries  pierce  our  hearts.  But  in 
heaven  cries  of  agony  will  be  unheard.  Pain  will  have 
noplace:  sorrow  will  be  unknown — "and  there  shall 
be  no  more  death."  And  who  that  has  lost  a  friend  in 
this  world  after  much  solicitude  and  anxious  watching, 
does  not  anticipate  that  period  when  his  heart  will  no 
more  be  pierced  by  the  wail  of  sorrow  ?  when  his  eyes 
will  no  more  witness  the  triumph  of  the  "king  of 
terrors  ?"  and  when  his  feet  will  no  more  tread  the 
graveyard,  or  stand  beside  the  yawning  tomb  ? 

No  captain  would  wish  to  remain  at  anchor  upon  the 
shores  of  a  plague-smitten  country,  so  the  Christian 
need  not  wish  unduly  to  prolong  his  stay  in  the  midst 
of  sorrow,  affliction,  and  death.  "  Having  a  desire  to 
depart." 

Our  service,  moreover,  does  not  ensure  unmingled 
delight  in  this  world.  It  is  a  great  blessedness  to  serve 
the  Lord  Christ  in  the  battle  of  life.  Our  calling  is  a 
noble  calling — "  God  hath  called  us  unto  glory."    We 


YOUTH.  135 

become  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  may  ^^  fight  the 
good  fight  of  faith  ;"  that  on  the  side  of  the  Son  of 
God  we  may  war  with  the  antagonistic  forces  of  evil 
which  prevail  in  the  world.  It  is  a  noble  service  !  We 
love  the  Captain  of  our  salvation.  We  love  the  cause  we 
have  espoused.  We  are  conscious  of  iis  justice,  of  its 
excellence,  and  of  its  ultimate  triumph:  yet  we  are  also 
conscious  of  much  imperfection.  Sin  mars  our  works — 
weakens  our  hands,  and  retards  our  progress.  Often  do 
we  cry  with  the  apostle — *'  0  wretched  one  that  I  am, 
who  shall  deliver  me  !''  *^  We  cannot  do  the  things 
that  we  would."  We  cannot  serve  our  Lord  as  we  ought. 
"Evil  is  present  with  us"  even  in  doing  good;  and 
therefore  while  we  may  be  willing  to  '^ abide  in  the 
flesh,"  if  such  be  the  will  of  God,  we  may,  and  ought  to 
cherish  the  "  desire  to  depart,"  to  leave  the  scene  of  con- 
flict, and  ''enter  into  rest." 

II.  The  apostle's  estimate  of  future  bliss  claims  our 
attention.     ''To  be  with  Christ."     And  here  observe — 

First,  the  apostle  did  not  regard  departure  as  the 
annihilation  of  his  humanity.  The  thought  of  annihi- 
lation would  have  smitten  him  through  with  terror. 
Philosophy  and  revelation  alike  forbid  the  wretched 
idea.  What  man  would  covet  the  annihilation  of  his 
existence  except  the  guilty  and  depraved  ?  It  is  pos- 
sible to  conceive  of  a  mind  reduced  to  wish  such  an 
ultimatum,  but  it  must  be  a  mind  that  has  not  a  ray  of 
hope  sweeping  across  its  horizon,  that  does  not  reflect 
upon  eternity  and  its  realities — not  a  mind  elevated  to 
true  virtue  by  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Such  a  mind  would 
shudder  could  it  believe,  'When  I  depart  I  shall  be  no 
more.'  Annihilation  is  the  dream  of  infidelity  in  its 
lowest  and  basest  form. 

Secondly,  you  observe  the  apostle  did  not  regard  de- 
parture as  the  extinguisliing  of  his  spirit  till  the  moru 


136  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

of  resurrection.  Does  not  the  language  of  the  text 
imply,  with  all  the  force  of  certainty,  that  when  the 
Christian  departs  he  is  at  once  with  Christ  ?  Is  not  the 
transition  immediate  ?  And  is  not  the  desire  ex- 
pressed upon  the  assured  conviction  that  departure 
would  usher  him  into  the  presence  of  Christ  and 
into  personal  communion  with  Him.  Had  the  apostle 
the  least  idea  of  a  suspension  of  his  mental  faculties 
while  his  body  remained  under  the  dominion  of  death  ? 
On  what  ground,  if  this  were  the  case,  could  he  say, 
*'  To  die  is  gain  ?"  Wherein  would  be  the  gain,  to  leave 
the  joy  of  labor  for  Christ  and  sink  into  utter  uncon- 
sciousness for  centuries  ?  How  could  a  departure  under 
such  circumstances  be  "far  better"  than  living  for 
Christ  in.  the  flesh  ?  Unless  we  admit  the  immediate 
blessedness  of  departed  spirits,  Paul's  departure  would 
have  been  not  gain,  but  loss,  gkeat  loss.  The  soul 
sleepeth  not ;  it  is  an  ever  living,  wakeful  entity.  It 
needeth  not  sleep.  It  existeth  even  when  absent  from 
the  body.  "Absent  from  the  body,  it  is  present  with 
the  Lord."  "Ye  are  come,"  says  the  apostle,  "to  the 
SPIRITS  of  the  just  made  perfect."  Observe  the  lan- 
guage, "spirits"  "made  perfect ;"  but  it  spirits  sleejj, 
and  are  not  made  perfect  till  the  body  rise  from  the  dust 
of  death,  with  what  propriety  could  the  apostle  say,  We 
ARE  come  to  them  ? 

There  will  unquestionably  be  a  perfection  of  humanity 
as  a  whole  at  the  resurrection,  but  in  the  mean  time  the 
spirit  is  already  perfect. 

Paul's  desire,  then,  for  departure  was  that  he  might 
^'be  with  Ctirist."  "The  love  of  Christ  constrained " 
his  desire  for  an  interview.  He  was  well  pleased  to 
labor  for  Him  on  earth,  but  he  preferred  diuelling  with 
Him  in  heaven.  The  life  of  faith  was  pleasant,  but  \\ 
fX^hi  of  Chvigt  would  be  *'  far  better,'^ 


YOUTH.  137 

Thirdly,  it  is  reUcant  to  inq%iire,  in  what  place  Paul 
expected  to  meet  the  Saviour? 

Where  is  the  Redeemer  ?  The  Scriptures  dis- 
tinctly and  repeatedly  assure  us  that  the  'Mieavens  have 
received  Him  till  the  restitution  of  all  things" — that 
"He  has  entered  heaven  for  us/'  and  carries  on  His 
intercourse  in  that  world  in  the  presence  of  God.  And 
if  so,  will  it  not  follow  that  to  be  ivith  Him  is  to  be  in 
heaven  9  "  Where  I  am,"  says  the  Saviour,  "  there  shall 
My  servant  be  also  ;"  and  when  His  Word  tells  me  that 
"  He  is  gone  into  heaven,  and  is  on  the  right  hand  of 
God,"  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  His  departed 
saints  are  there  also. 

The  apo^:tle's  desire,  was  to  reach  the  perfection  of 
his  nature  and  the  perfection  of  his  bliss.  And  this  he 
could  reach  only  in  the  glorious  presence  of  his  Re- 
deemer. 

Love  is  strong  and  impels  its  possessor  to  seek  the 
society  of  its  object.  There  it  reposes,  for  we  '^rest  in 
our  love." 

The  apostle's  hopes  had  for  many  years  centered  or 
"Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified;'''  and  now  he  wished 
to  be  with  Jesus  Christ  glorified — not  as  a  spectator  oi 
His  glory  only,  but  as  a  partaker.  The  bliss  of  heavei] 
will  fill  both  the  eye  and  the  heart.  "  Father,  I  will 
that  they  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me  be  with  Me  where 
I  am,  that  they  may  behold  My  glory."  We  shall  see 
Him  as  He  is  ;  not  in  the  unsubdued  splendors  of  Deity, 
but  with  those  splendors  softened  by  a  beautiful  hu- 
manity— v/ith  the  majesty  of  Godhead  blended  with  the 
sympathy  of  a  refined  manhood.  Thus  the  apostle 
longed  to  see  Him  and  to  be  with  Him ;  and  to  achieve 
this  he  was  desirous  to  depart,  conscious  that  as  soon  as 
his  spirit  was  unloosed  from  the  trammels  of  the  body, 


138  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

it  would  find  a  place  among  the  spirits  made  perfect, 
and  in  that  perfection  enjoy  Him  for  ever. 

When  we  think  of  all  the  bliss  consequent  upon  de- 
parture, we  can  understand  why  the  apostle  should  say, 
''To  die  is  gain,"  and  to  ''depart  is  far  better."  It  is 
far  better,  because  he  who  thus  leaves  this  world  be- 
comes free  from  every  sin,  every  perplexity  and  every 
doubt ;  free  from  every  temptation  and  sorrow — from 
every  kind  of  evil,  physicial  and  moral.  And  seeing  it 
is  so,  why  should  a  Christian  be  afraid  to  depart  ?  Let 
no  Christian  clothe  death  with  needless  terror,  but  let 
him  learn  his  privilege  to  regard  it  as  a  "sleep  in  Jesus," 
as  an  exodus,  as  a  weighing  anchor,  as  a  '^departure  to 
be  with  Christ." 

Death  has  its  bright  side  as  well  as  its  dark  one.  It 
may  deface  mortal  beauty,  wither  human  strength, 
tarnish  human  glory,  and  terrify  the  guilty — but  it  is  no 
enemy  to  the  Christian.  It  can  deface  no  moral  beauty, 
wither  no  spiritual  strength,  despoil  of  no  true  wealth, 
disturb  no  true  repose.  Why  then  should  a  Christian 
be  afraid  to  die  ?  Why  should  he  fear  to  depart  to  his 
home  ?  Why  should  he  tremble  to  hear  his  Lord  turn 
the  key  which  opens  the  door  of  a  perfect  and  of  an 
eudless  life  ?  Why  should  he  dread  to  walk  down  into 
the  valley  ?  Is  there  a  shadow  there  ?  and  is  there  not 
light  ?  Without  light  shadows  cannot  exist.  Is  there  a 
shadow  there  ?  and  is  it  not  the  shadow  of  the  opposite 
Mount — Mount  Zion — up  which  the  spirit  will  travel  as 
soon  as  it  is  emancipated  ?  Fear  not,  then,  0  Christian, 
to  cherish  the  "desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ." 
It  is  far  better  than  your  present  mode  of  existence,  and 
your  present  enjoyments. 

Here  you  ''groan  being  burdened!"  Here  you  are 
oppressed  v^^ith  imperfections  in  yourselves,  in  the  icorldj 
and  in  the  church.     "Fur    better!"     There  is  no  com- 


TOVTII.  139 

piirison  between  calm  and  rest,  between  conflict  and 
peace,  between  chains  and  freedom,  between  night  and 
day. 

This  sublime  aspiration  of  the  apostle — this  temper 
and  posture  of  the  soul,  becomes  every  Christian.  If 
v/e  have  been  *' renewed  in  the  spirit  of  our  minds  " — if 
''Christ  has  been  formed  within  us  the  hope  of  glory" 
— then  tve  shall  covet  the  perfection  to  which  we  are 
destined,  and  of  which  we  are  capable.  The  creature  in 
every  department  of  creation  tends  to  perfection.  Every- 
thing seeks  to  develope  itself  and  struggles  with  every 
difficulty  that  opposes  its  advancement ;  and  surely  "  the 
new  creature "  cannot  but  aspire  to  glory,  and  honor, 
and  perfection,  in  the  presence  of  Christ. 

This  subject,  thus  brought  before  us,  teaches  us  that 
the  great  design  of  the  Gospel  is  to  produce  in  all  who 
receive  it  a  willingness  and  readiness  to  die.  To  un- 
renewed humanity  death  is  the  king  of  terrors.  Apart 
from  the  cross  of  Christ,  he  must  ever  appear  as  an 
enemy  to  the  reflective  mind.  I  am  not  unaware  that 
many  who  disbelieve  the  Gospel  have  counted  death  as 
the  friend  of  man,  and  some  have  invited  his  approach 
before  the  time  by  the  poisoned  cup  or  by  the  polished 
steel.  But  in  every  case  of  this  kind  the  victims  had 
become  weary  of  life.  Calamities  and  crosses,  pains  and 
sorrows  had  so  pressed  upon  them,  that  life  became  irk- 
some, and  with  cowardice  they  ran  away  from  life's  ills, 
unable  to  bear  the  discipline  of  earthly  care. 

In  the  apostle's  case  nothing  of  this  kind  induced  the 
"  desire  to  depart."  He  was  Jiot  disgusted  with  life  ;  he 
did  not  wish  to  be  unclothed  ;  he  did  not  wish  to  die  to 
get  rid  of  trouble  ;  he  did  not  wish  to  die  because  he 
hated  the  world.  He  had  a  higher  motive.  It  was  that 
he  MIGHT  "BE  WITH  Christ."  We  do  not  say,  that  lie 
was  insensible  to  the  evils  incident  to  the  present  stale, 


UO  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

or  that  he  was  enamoured  of  earth's  sorrows.  By  no 
means.  But  the  grand  motive  of  his  aspirations  was  to 
be  with  Christ.  Love  panted  to  reach  its  Parent,  and  to 
look  Him  in  the  face  for  ever.  And  this  is  the  true  test 
of  Christian  principle.  If  the  desire  to  die  arise  from 
disgust  with  earthly  sorrows,  earthly  associates,  or  earth- 
ly things,  depend  upon  it  the  mind  is  not  fit  for  the  de- 
parture. It  is  like  an  instrument  in  an  untuned  con- 
dition, and  would  by  no  means  add  to  the  harmony  of 
the  heavenly  world.  The  true  proof  of  meetness  is  love 
to  the  person  of  Christ,  and  a  desire  to  have  His  wel- 
come, His  society,  and  His  smile. 

What,  then,  are  the  desires  of  your  minds  ?  Are  you 
of  the  same  temper  as  the  apostle  ? — willing  to  live,  if 
you  may  live  to  Christ,  but  desirous  -'to  depart,  and  to 
be  with  Christ,"  when  He  shall  intimate  His  will  ?  De- 
spise not  your  life  :  it  is  a  noble  endowment,  and  is  given 
for  a  ]ioble  purpose.  Squander  it  not  away,  but  live  to 
Christ,  to  promote  in  every  possible  way  the  welfare  of 
humanity.  If  you  live  for  Christ,  you  will  live  for  man 
— you  cannot  do  otherwise.  "  The  love  of  Christ  con- 
strains" to  a  sublime  philanthropy.  It  aims  to  crush 
selfishness :  it  finds  the  neighbor  whom  to  love  in  uni- 
versal man.  This  is  true  Christianity,  and  anything 
short  of  it  is  a  caricature,  a  counterfeit  thing.  In  using 
life  thus  nobly,  let  the  balance  of  your  desires  ever  be  in 
favor  of  departure  ;  so  that,  when  the  last  hour  of  life 
shall  come,  death  may  not  be  like  tearing  up  a  tree  by 
its  roots,  but  like  the  loosing  of  a  ship  from  its  anchor, 
to  ride  gallantly  into  the  port  of  glory  and  into  the 
haven  of  eternal  rest. 

It  gives  me  pleasure  to  say  that  the  departed  com- 
mended herself  to  the  esteem  of  all  who  knew  her  as  a 
modest  and  retiring  Christian.  As  a  servant  she  was 
faithful  and  honest  in  every  trust.     For  eight  years  sh^ 


YOJJTS.  141 

was  under  our  roof,  and  time  only  enhanced  the  esteem 
in  wliicli  she  was  hekl.  We  have  sorrowed  for  her  loss, 
but  not  as  those  Avithout  hope.  We  are  thankful  that 
we  have  not  been  obliged  to  leave  her  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  an  unsympathizing  world.  Her  desire  was 
to  be  with  Christ,  and  that  desire  we  fondly  hope  is  fully 
and  for  ever  realized.  Her  death  speaks  to  every  fellow- 
member  of  this  church,  and  it  urges  all  to  ''  work  while 
it  is  called  to  day,  for  the  night  cometh  when  no  man 
can  work."  With  us  she  will  commune  no  more  :  w^ith 
us  on  earth  she  will  worship  no  more.  But  let  us  anti- 
cipate the  time  of  re-union  at  the  banquet  of  love  in 
heaven.  Let  our  anxiety  be  to  live  to  Christ,  cherishing 
at  the  same  time  a  *^  desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with 
Christ,  which  is  far  better." 

Finally,  her  death  speaks  to  the  tottn'G. 

What  an  impressive  lesson  do<5s  it  read  upon  the 
vanity  of  human  life  !  Here  was  a  young  woman  called 
to  bear  the  yoke  of  affliction  in  her  youth,  and  to  die  in 
her  twenty-fourth  year.  "Her  sun  went  down  while  it 
Avas  yet  noon."  And  how  know  you  that  your  end  is 
not  near  ?  Oh  !  '*  set  not  your  affections  on  things  on 
the  earth  ;"  follow  not  the  vanities,  and  fashions,  and 
pleasures  of  this  world.  Let  your  life  be  consecrated  to 
Christ  from  henceforth,  and  remember  that  the  departed 
has  assured  you  that  you  will  never  regret  it.  Regret 
JT  !  No !  The  soul  that  is  joined  to  its  Saviour,  can 
never  regret  its  union,  for  by  that  union  it  rises  to  the 
elevation  of  salvation  and  of  heaven  for  ever. 

Some  of  you  knew  and  esteemed  the  departed.  0 
come  and  join  yourselves  to  the  Lord  and  Saviour.  For 
this  she  prayed,  and  let  none  despise  the  prayer  of  a 
humble  disciple.  I  cannot  but  hope,  tliat  as  her  own 
serious  improssions  were  ripened  into  decision  for  Christ 
under  a  fnneral  sermon,  so  some  of  you  may  from  this 


143  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

time  be  led  to  seek  the  Lord,  and  give  yourselves  to 
Him.  *^  Brethren,  my  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God 
for  you  all  is,  that  you  may  be  saved." 


THE  DYING  CHRISTIAN. 

REV.  R.  GIBSOif,  Eiq^GLAND. 

ON   THE   DEATH    OF   MR.   J.  C.   H. ,   AGED   32. 

'■^For  1  am  now  ready  to  he  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is 
at  hand.  1  have  fought  a  good  fight,  1  ha/oe  finished  my  course,  1 
have  kept  the  faith :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at 
tJiat  day :  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  His 
appearing. " — 2  Timothy  iv :  6-8. 

'T^HE  solemn  event  which  we  are  assembled  this  even- 
ing to  improve,  though  truly  mouinful  and  pain- 
fully distressing,  and  even  overwhelming  to  the  minds 
of  some,  is  in  itself  mingled  with  the  blooming  hope  of 
immortality  and  eternal  life.  We  cannot,  however,  but 
regard  it  amongst  the  dark,  mysterious,  impenetrable 
dispensations  of  an  infinitely  wise  and  kind  Providence. 
When  we  see  the  aged  sinner  with  his  hoary  head,  ema- 
ciated frame,  and  broken  down  constitution,  whose  life 
has  been  one  of  distinguished  transgression,  spared  year 
after  year  in  his  rebellion,  and  on  his  right  hand  and  on 
his  left  the  young,  the  healthful,  the  virtuous,  the  good, 
are  swept  away  by  the  relentless  hand  of  mortality,  and 
those  hopes  that  have  swelled  the  bosoms  of  pious  par- 
ents, that  have  promised  to  revive  the  church  and  to 
bless  the  world,  have  been  blighted  and  withered  in  the 
bud  ;  when  we  see  this,  are  we  not  disposed  to  exclaim, 
''How  unsearchable  are  His  judgments,  and  His  ways 
past  finding  out  !"  Thus  it  has  been  in  the  present  in- 
stance, and  thus  it  has  been  in  a  thousand  others  ;  but 


be  it  ours  to  ^^  stand  still  and  know  that  He  is  God," 
and  tliat  '^He  doeth  all  things  well/'  ''  though  His  way 
is  in  the  sea,  His  path  in  the  great  waters,  and  His  foot- 
steps are  not  known.  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round 
about  Him,  justice  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of 
His  throne."  In  the  midst  of  such  perplexing  scenes, 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God  is  most  desirable,  and  per- 
haps the  highest  and  noblest  attainment  to  which  the 
Christian  can  arrive,  on  this  side  the  grave.  It  is  said 
of  one,  that  while  yet  wave  after  wave  brake  with  greater 
violence  on  his  devoted  head,  **in  all  this  he  sinned  not, 
nor  charged  God  foolishly."  ^^  I  was  dumb,"  said  the 
psalmist,  "because  Thou  didst  it ;"  and  another  calmly 
replied,  "It  is  the  Lord,  let  Him  do  what  seemeth  Him 
good."  Oh  !  for  something  of  that  meek  submission, 
which  characterized  the  blessed  Kedeemer,  when  ap- 
proaching the  bitterest  agonies  that  could  wring  His  sin- 
less heart;  ^'Nevertheless  not  My  will,  but  Thine  be 
done." 

St.  Paul  was  at  this  time  a  prisoner  in  Rome,  for  the 
truth,  he  had  so  much  loved,  and  so  faithfully  pro- 
claimed. He  was  hourly  anticipating  a  martyr's  death, 
for  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  While  thus 
standing  on  the  verge  of  both  v/orlds,  in  calmly  review- 
ing the  past,  he  says,  "I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered, 
and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand  ;  I  have  fought 
a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the 
faith."  Then  casting  his  reflections  forward  into 
futurity,  more  sublime  and  enrapturing  visions  broke  on 
his  triumphant  spirit. 

This  too  was  something  of  the  experience  of  our  de- 
parted friend.  In  reviewing  the  past,  he  could  rejoice  ; 
and,  in  the  anticipation  of  the  future,  he  could  triumph. 
This  is  not  the  gloomy  language  of  skepticism,  but  of  a 
martyr  and  a  Christian,  awaiting  his  di missal  from  a 


144  MEMORIAL     TRtBUTMS. 

world  of  sorrow,  to  the  realms  of  endless  bliss.  This 
dispels  the  gloom  from  the  grave  ;  this  cheers  and  il- 
lumines the  pathway  to  the  tomb;  this  wipes  away  the. 
bitter  tear  of  -the  anxious  mourner,  that  lingers  behind  ; 
this  bereaves  the  last  enemy  of  his  sting ;  this  sustains 
the  soul  amid  ''  the  wreck  of  nature,"  and  opens  to  the 
departing  spirit  a  survey  of  the  cloudless  mansions  of 
joy,  to  which  it  is  about  to  take  its  everlasting  flight. 
And  no  wonder  if  amid  such  scenes  he  should  long  for 
'^the  wings  of  a  dove,  to  fly  away  and  be  at  rest." 

We  shall  make  some  brief  remarks  on  each  sentiment 
of  this  interesting  passage. 

May  the  Lord  command  His  abundant  blessings  ;  may 
He  fill  this  place  with  His  glory ;  and  may  he  bind  up 
every  wound,  and  comfort  every  sorrowful  spirit,  for  His 
name's  sake  ! 

**I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered."  This  is  the  sweet 
experience  of  the  man  of  God.  There  are  in  his  mind 
no  fearful  forebodings,  no  anxious  pangs,  no  tremulous 
apprehensions,  rising  to  wrap  the  soul  in  the  mists  of 
obscurity,  while  thus  treading  the  margin  of  the  grave. 
How  many  express  an  ardent  desire  for  that  world  of 
peace  and  rest  awaiting  the  believer,  but  how  seldom  do 
they  properly  consider  the  essential,  the  indispensable 
preparation  for  such  a  state  !  If  there  be  one  thing  in 
the  universe  of  God  more  pleasing  to  the  mind  than  all 
others,  it  is  to  see  the  Christian  completely  prepared  for 
heaven.  There  he  stands,  when  life  wears  to  a  close,  and 
the  twilight  shadows  of  the  evening  are  flinging  them- 
selves around  him,  with  his  lamp  trimmed,  and  being 
brilliantly  wrapped  in  a  robe  without  a  stain,  waiting 
only  for  the  fiery  chariot  and  the  convoy  of  angels,  to 
conduct  his  happy  spirit  to  Abraham's  bosom. 

We  cannot  be  surprised  at  the  ancient  Christians 
^^  not  accepting  deliverance."     Like  this  noble  champion 


TOVTff.  145 

for  the  truth,  tlieir  labors  were  ended,  the  wilderness 
traversed,  the  journey  of  life  at  a  close,  upon  the  bor- 
ders of  the  promised  land,  waiting  to  enter  in.  And 
while  the  gates  are  thus  opening  and  the  soul  rising  to 
God  and  to  heaven,  to  mingle  with  its  kindred  spirits, 
and  as  the  discordant  sounds  of  earth  die  away  on  the 
ear^  the  melting  strains  of  heavenly  music  break  upon  it; 
and  as  the  eye  becomes  dim  to  all  earthly  scenes,  and  as 
they  fade  away^  it  opens  upon  the  celestial  visions  of 
eternal  day.  What  can  be  more  distressing,  than  at  such 
a  crisis  to  be  thrown  back  upon  the  bleak  shores  of  an 
unfriendly  world  ! 

Our  beloved  friend,  when  once  nearly  gone,  but  re- 
covering again  from  a  most  painful  attack,  said,  '^all 
this  is  a  disappointment."  But  it  was  only  for  a  little  ; 
angels  were  preparing  his  crown,  and  hastening  to  meet 
him  ;  yet  a  little,  and  he  soared  away  to  join  in  the  song, 
"Unto  Him  that  hath  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from 
our  sins  in  His  own  blood,  be  glory  for  ever." 

My  brethren,  are  you  ready  to  pass  to  that  dying 
chamber,  or  at  once  to  that  "rest  that  remaineth  for  the 
people  of  God  ?"  Is  you  lamp  trimmed  and  burning  ? 
Have  you  on  "the  wedding  garment,"  or  is  it  the  tat- 
tered robe  of  your  own  self -righteousness,  you  stand  in 
to-night  ? 

"The  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand."  Few  lessons 
in  the  pages  of  Divine  revelation  are  taught  with  greater 
emphasis,  or  more  solemnity,  than  the  brevity  of  human 
life.  "All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof 
is  like  the  flower  of  the  field  ;  the  grass  witliereth,  the 
flower  fadeth  ;"  plucked  by  the  ruthless  hand,  it  fades 
in  an  hour,  dies  in  a  day.  If,  then,  his  days  are  few  and 
full  of  trouble ;  if  only  like  a  s})an,  a  vapor,  or  a  rapid 
stream,  that  passes  ;  if  like  that  arrow,  he  be  passing 
over  the  narrow  sea  of  life,  into  the  fathomless  depths  of 
7 


146  MEMORIAL      TniBUT£JS. 

fcternitj  ;  if  '-in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death ;"  if 
that  eye  that  sparkles  with  life,  may  be  closed  in  death 
in  one  hour ;  if  that  countenance,  glowing  with  youth 
healthfulness,  may  be  pale  in  death  this  night ;  if  the 
throbbing  of  each  breast  may  be  the  last,  if  the  beating 
of  each  pulse  may  terminate  your  short  career,  if  the 
next  breath  may  be  the  last  for  ever — how  it  becomes 
you  to  apply  this  sentiment  to  your  conscience,  'Uhe 
time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand  !"  This  is  not  a  thing 
that  may  or  may  not  be  ;  it  is  now ;  even  now,  at  hand  ; 
all  the  harbingers  of  mortality  have  entered  your  bosom, 
and  the  work  of  destruction  is  already  begun.  Oh  !  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  might  write  this  fact  on  all  your 
hearts,  "the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand  !" 

But  blessed  departure,  and  no  matter  how  near, 
when  cheered  by  the  sunshine  of  God's  presence.  Then 
it  will  only  be  ''the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death:" 
the  shadow  of  the  serpent  will  not  sting,  the  shadow  of 
the  sword  will  not  injure  ;  the  rod  will  defend,  and  the 
staff  of  His  promises  will  sustain,  and  no  evil  shall  be 
feared,  because  God  is  there. 

But  what  a  scene  must  this  departure  be,  when  un- 
clieered  by  a  ray  of  Gospel  hope  ! — a  night,  alas  !  full  of 
darkness,  despair,  and  horror — a  night  destined  to  ter- 
minate in  the  "blackness  of  darkness"  for  ever.  If 
there  be  anything  that  should  awaken  in  the  heart  the 
most  pungent  grief,  it  is  the  thought  of  such  an  end  as 
this. 

But  the  Christian's  is  not  so.  His  is  one  of  a  very 
different  character  :  from  a  prison  to  a  palace  ;  from  the 
dreary  wilderness  to  a  cloudless  paradise,  blooming  with 
all  the  fruits  of  immortal  bliss  Oh  !  happy  departure 
from  that  bed  of  suffering  and  of  anguish,  to  be 
pillowed  on  the  bosom  of  the  Kcdcemer ;  from  those 
heart-rending  sighs,  to    mingle  Avith   the    melodies  of 


Youth.  i4t 

heavea  !  Oh  !  ''  let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righ- 
teous, and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his  !" 

^'I  have  fought  a  good  fight."  Some  have  thought, 
could  they  once  but  realize  a  changed  heart,  all  the 
work  would  then  be  finished  ;  but  how  vastly  different 
the  lesson  acquired  since  that  period  !  You  know  full 
Avell  now,  that  instead  of  being  completed,  it  was  only 
commencing  ;  that,  now,  every  untrodden  ste])  in  the 
Divine  life  is  disputed  by  the  adversary  of  your  soul. 
Indeed,  they  know  but  little  of  Christian  experience, 
wlio  know  not  that  it  is  one  incessant,  one  continual 
warfare.  Till  the  close  of  life,  enemies  innumerable, 
difficulties  untold,  beset  his  path,  meet  and  assail  him 
at  every  turning.  The  world,  with  its  menacing  frowns, 
or  its  alluring,  deceptive  fascination.  How  many  its 
illusive  dreams  of  pleasure,  riches,  honors,  or  bliss  I 
But,  alas,  its  glories  wither  in  an  hour,  and  the  paradise 
becomes  a  wilderness — its  promises  betray,  its  ho])es 
deceive ;  and  in  pursuit  of  the  phantom,  the  soul  ha3 
been  perilled,  if  not  lost.  Nothing  short  of  a  ^^  faith 
that  overcomes  the  world,"  will  suffice. 

And  even  when  the  world  is  vanquished,  the  conflict 
has  not  subsided  ;  there  is  an  ever  wakeful,  ever  restles<5 
adversary,  "  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  There  is 
too,  the  uprising  of  a  host  of  foes  within  ;  nor  are  these 
the  weakest,  or  the  least  to  be  feared.  How  much  re- 
mains yet  to  be  done  !  how  many  the  enemies  to  bo 
ejected  from  the  soul !  The  surface  that  appeared 
placid  and  clear,  is  troubled ;  the  waters  are  fouled,  and 
the  impurity  of  the  fountain  is  evident ;  and  we  have 
to  learn,  that  there  must  be  much  yet  of  the  crucifying 
of  the  flesh,  and  of  the  mortifying  of  the  deeds  of  the 
body. 

And  immediately  combined  with  these,  is  the  '^ast 
enemy,"  even  "  death."     But,  thank  God,  that  which 


148  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

would  have  stung  to  the  bosom's  core,  with  more  thau 
scorpion's  sting,  is  hailed  as  an  angel  of  light,  emptying 
the  cup  of  death  of  all  its  poisoned,  malignant  elements^ 
and  filling  it  with  the  water  of  the  fountain  of  life. 
^'0  death  !  where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave  !  where  is  thy 
victory  ?"  '^  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the 
victory,  through  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  ^^  0  death  !  I 
will  be  thy  plagues  ;  0  grave  !  I  will  be  thy  destruc- 
tion." He  will  '^ swallow  up  death  in  victory;"  He 
will  ^' wipe  away  tears  from  off  all  faces  ;"  for  the  mouth 
of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. 

But  the  apostle  has  designated  this  ^'a  good  fight  ;" 
and  this  it  is  in  effect.  Here  faith  may  be  seen  rising 
and  soaring  away  beyond  the  regions  of  doubtful  un- 
belief, mercy  rejoicing  over  justice,  holiness  triumphing 
over  sin ;  the  darkness  of  error  dispelled  by  the  light  of 
truth.  Unlike  all  other  conflicts,  no  sound  of  the  war- 
whoop,  no  flourishing  of  trumpets,  clashing  of  arms,  or 
din  of  war,  no  ^•garments  dyed  in  blood  ;"  no  dying 
groans  break  upon  the  ear,  no  bleeding  wounds  open  to 
the  eye ;  no  widow's  wail  is  heard  above  the  dead,  the 
tear-drop  bedews  no  orphan's  cheek.  It  is  tlie  peaceful 
triumph  of  virtue  over  vice  ;  love  over  enmity  ;  benevo- 
lence over  avarice  ;  life  over  death  ;  heaven  over  hell. 
It  is  the  soul  towering  away  above  all  that  is  earthly, 
^^  fighting  the  good  fight  of  faith,  and  laying  hold  on 
eternal  life." 

"  I  have  finished  my  course."  This  the  apostle  had 
finished  indeed  with  unutterable  joy  ;  every  period  of  it 
had  been  lit  up  with  a  halo  of  unrivaled  glory.  His 
had  been  a  martyr's  course,  a  martyr's  work:  ay,  and 
a  martyr's  crown  glittered  in  the  dim  distance.  What 
is  the  course  of  the  hero  of  unnumbered  battles,  when 
put  in  contrast  with  the  glorious  acliievements  of  the 
Christian  man  ?     The  one  comes'to  destroy  men's  lives, 


YOUTH.  149 

the  other  to  save  them ;  the  one  diffuses  blessing  all 
around,  the  other  deals  out  destruction ;  the  one  goes 
down  to  his  grave  amid  the  maledictions  of  the  lonely 
and  the  destitute,  whilst  yet  his  horizon  is  overcast  with 
infamy  ;  the  other  goes  down  without  a  cloud  to  dim  the 
glory,  and  his  sun  rises  with  yet  more  glowing  splendor, 
amid  the  assemblies  of  the  just,  to  go  down  no  more. 

The  course  of  imagined  pleasure,  how  short,  how  un- 
satisfactory, and  how  bitter  !  This  course  v/ill  soon  ter- 
minate ;  but  shall  it  end  like  an  unhappy  Altamont's  ? 
When  the  clock  struck,  he  exclaimed  wuth  vehemence, 
*'0  time,  time  !  it  is  fit  thou  shouldest  thus  strike  thy 
murderer  to  the  heart.  How  art  thou  fled  for  ever ! 
My  principles  have  poisoned  my  friend,  my  extravagance 
has  beggared  my  boy,  my  un kindness  has  murdered  my 
wife.  And  is  there  another  hell  ?  0  Thou  blasphemed, 
yet  most  indulgent  Lord  God,  liell  itself  would  be  a  re- 
fuge, if  it  hide  me  from  Thy  frown." 

Contrast  for  one  moment  the  Christian's  closing 
hours  with  this.  *'l  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth." 
"  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee  ?  and  there  is  none 
on  earth,  that  I  desire  besides  Thee ;  my  heart  and  my 
flesh  faileth,  but  the  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  heart 
and  my  portion  for  ever."  '^  I  have  fought  a  good  fight, 
1  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith  ;  hence- 
forth there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  glory,  which  the 
Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day." 
"  Xow  lettest  Thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  Thy  salvation."  Thus,  amid  the 
joy  of  triumph  and  shouts  of  victory,  he  finishes  his 
course,  whilst  the  angelic  hosts  welcome  him  to  the 
shores  of  immortality  and  eternal  life,  with  the  thrilling 
music  of  heaven. 

''I  have  kept  the  faith."  This  doubtless  refers  to 
the  glorious  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,   tlie  m\\- 


150  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

versal  character  of  man's  fall,  justification,  sanctificatioUj 
holiness,  the  general  resurrection,  the  final  glory  that 
should  be  awarded  for  the  righteous,  and  the  fearful 
destination  awaiting  the  ungodly.  But  he  dwelt  em- 
phatically on  the  atonement  of  Christ.  All  the  pathos, 
all  the  eloquence,  all  tlie  zeal,  all  the  fervor,  of  which 
he  was  possessed,  was  reserved  and  expended  alone  upon 
the  glories  of  the  cross  ;  of  that  he  would  never  be 
ashamed  ;  in  nothing  would  he  glory  save  the  cross ; 
living  and  dying,  it  was  his  choicest,  his  only  theme. 

But  connected  with  this  was  the  principle  of  ^'  faith  ; 
which  purifies  the  heart,  and  works  by  love."  This  is 
the  life  of  God  in  the  soul ;  and  this  is  the  life  of  the 
soul.  It  is  to  the  soul  what  the  animal  life  is  to  the 
body.  It  is  not  merely  a  cold,  heartless,  tacit  confes- 
sion ;  it  is  a  living  principle,  developing  itself  in  '^what- 
soever things  are  lovely  and  of  good  report."  It  is  the 
keen  eagle  eye,  that  ever  gazes  on  the  Almighty,  and 
never  loses  sight  of  Him  ;  it  is  the  pinion,  that  through 
mountains  of  difi&culties,  wings  its  flight  to  the  throne  ; 
and  this  the  hand  with  which  he  lays  hold  on  eternal 
life.  Keep  it  as  you  would  your  property,  your  friend, 
your  life ;  keep  it,  and  it  Avill  keep  you  ;  tremble,  lest 
you  should  ever  make  shipwreck  of  it ;  lest  you  should, 
having  begun  in  the  spirit,  end  in  the  flesh  ;  contend  for 
it,  maintain  it,  strive  for  it,  till  ''faith  is  swallowed  up 
in  sight,"  and  prayer  in  endless  praise. 

Secondly.  We  notice  briefly  the  pleasing  prospect 
of  the  future,  that  opened  to  the  mind  of  the  apostle. 

"  Crown  of  righteousness."  This  was  no  idle  reverie, 
no  wild  enthusiasm,  no  imaginary  wandering  of  a 
diseased  mind.  He  could  see  the  diadem  of  glory  glit- 
tering through  the  clouds;  a  crown  purchased  by  a  righte- 
ous Eedeemer  given  freely.  The  course  was  finished, 
the  battle  was  fought,  the  victory  was  won,  and  now  the 


TOUTH.  151 

wreath,  the  laurel,  and  the  green  palm  of  glory  is  his ; 
now  it  is  his  to  tread  the  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem, 

"  And  not  a  wave  of  trouble  rolls 
Across  his  peaceful  breast." 

This  is  not  only  '*  a  crown  of  righteousness,"  but 
a^'acrownof  life," — a  life  of  the  most  exquisite  feli- 
city, a  life  of  the  most  unutterable  pleasure  :  a  soul 
drinking  copiously  of  the  fountain  of  life,  sitting 
beneath  the  shadow  of  the  tree  of  life,  plucking  of  its 
immortal  fruits,  where  *' there  is  fullness  of  joy,  and 
pleasures  for  eyormore."  Life,  where  there  is  no  death 
— life,  Avhere  the  anxious  pangshall never  heave  the  breast, 
where  the  briny  tear  shall  never  bedew  the  cheek,  but 
shall  live  for  ever  *^  before  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the 
Lamb,  and  serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple  ;  and 
He  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them  ; 
and  they  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more, 
neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat  ;  for 
the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed 
them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of 
waters,  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their 
eyes." 

But,  again,  this  crown  shall  be  ''  a  crown  of  glory" 
— bright  with  glory,  all  glory,  unmixed  glory,  without  a 
stain,  without  a  tarnish.  The  stars  of  heaven  shall  fade 
away  before  it,  and  the  sun  shall  be  enveloped  in  gloom, 
when  it  appears.  It  is  such  glory  as  mortal  eye  has 
never  gazed  on  ;  such  glory  as  the  human  eye  can  never 
conceive  of  ;  such  glory  as  tlie  ear  of  man  has  never  heard 
of.  It  is  an  exceeding  weight  of  glory.  Then,  my 
brethren, 

"Press  forward,  press  forward,  the  prize  is  in  view  ; 
That  crown  of  bright  glory  is  waiting  for  you." 

Unlike  all  human  glory,  and  unlike  all  other  crowns^ 


152  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

this  is  '^a  crown  that  fadeth  not  away."  Crowns  and 
captors  and  princes  meet  and  mingle  in  the  dust ;  all 
earthly  glory  is  destined  to  pass,  like  a  sunbeam  in  a 
wintry  day;  the  worm  is  at  tlie  gourd,  the  moth  is  at 
the  garment,  the  canker  is  gathering  un  the  diadem ; 
the  glory  of  every  clime  and  country  shall  die  away  ;  the 
waves  of  oblivion  shall  roll  over  it,  and  it  shall  fade  as 
a  leaf ;  the  earth,  too,  like  an  atom  in  the  sunbeam, 
shall  glide  away  ;  but  the  Christian's  crown  of  glory 
shall  never  fade  ;  nor  shall  the  lapse  of  years,  nor  the 
rolling  ages  of  eternity,  dim  the  brightness  of  its  luster. 

^^The  Lord  the  righteous  Judge  shall  give  it  me." 
Who  can  fail  to  admire  the  freeness  of  the  gift,  the  un- 
merited character  of  the  gift — the  gift  of  love,  the  gift 
of  mercy,  the  gift  of  God?  ''At  that  day:"  whether 
he  was  looking  through  the  vista  of  ages  to  the  hour  of 
righteous  retribution,  or  to  the  moment  of  his  dismissal 
from  this  vale  of  tears,  is  of  no  vital  moment ;  this  we 
do  know,  the  crown  was  sure,  and  "to  die  was  gain." 

''And  not  to  me  only."  Not  for  the  few,  but  the 
multitude,  "a  multitude  which  no  man  could  number," 
men  of  every  nation,  and  country,  and  clime  and  color. 
There  is  a  crown  for  every  overcoming  Christian,  that 
loves,  that  longs,  that  waits  for  His  appearing.  And 
what  an  appearing  it  will  be  !  Not  as  a  Babe  in 
Bethlehem,  not  as  '^a  Man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
with  gri.f,"  but  amid  the  overwhelming  and  august 
splendors  of  the  Judgment  morning,  attended  with 
unnumbered  myriads  of  the  angelic  hosts,  to  crown  His 
people  with  glory,  honor,  immortality,  and  eternal  life, 
and  "  to  take  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God, 
and  that  have  not  obeyed  His  Gospel." 

It  appears  that  our  friend's  first  religious  impressions 
were  awakened  under  the  ministry  of  the  Eev.  T. 
liinney,  from  that  text,  "Behold,  how  He  loved  him." 


YOUTH.  153 

From  that  period,  he  continued  to  attend  the  preaching 
of  the  Word  ;  became  a  decided  character ;  gave  him- 
self to  God,  and  then  to  the  church.  His  was  a  decision 
of  the  right  character  ;  never  did  he  once  swerve  after- 
Avards  from  the  path  of  rectitude  ;  his  motto  was  "  On- 
ward to  the  goal." 

Of  his  usefulness,  his  benevolence,  devotedness, 
activity,  and  zeal,  1  feel  myself  inadequate  to  speak. 
Four  months'  painful  affliction  he  endured  with  the 
most  devout  and  exemplary  patience.  When  he  found 
the  hand  of  death  was  evidently  upon  him,  he  called 
each  member  of  the  family  around  his  bed,  and  bid  them 
a  most  affectionate  farewell.  And  that  farewell  echoes 
m  my  ear  yet ;  for  I  too  heard  it.  He  then  charged 
them  all  to  meet  him  in  heaven.  How  that  injunction 
thrilled  through  each  soul !  Solemn  would  it  have  been 
at  any  time,  but  now  it  was  raised  to  an  overwhelming 
climax.  It  falls  on  my  ear,  w4th  an  unspeakable  dis- 
tinctness, as  I  walk  along  the  streets — "Meet  me  in 
heaven."  The  dying  pillow,  from  whence  it  came ;  the 
pathos  with  which  it  fell  from  his  lips ;  and  the  fact  of 
its  being  almost  the  last  breath,  brings  it  home  to  the 
soul  with  deathless  sensibility.  Then  he  called  for  that 
sweet  hymn — 

"  When  I  tread  the  verge  of  Jordan, 
Bid  my  anxious  fears  subside." 

"Yes,"  said  he,  "He  is  my  shield,  He  is  my  deliverer." 
Being  asked  if  he  had  any  wish  to  be  gratified,  he 

replied,  **'  I  die  in  peace  with  all  men." 

He  dwelt  much  on  that  delightful  hymn  before  he 

quite  finished  his  course — 

''  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly;" 


154  MEMORIAL     TRFBUTES. 

He  calmly  fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  in  the  thirty-second 
year  of  his  age  ;  and  while  his  friends  were  mourning 
below,  he  was  rejoicing  before  the  throne. 

It  but  remains  for  me  to  urge  all  here  to  follow  in 
his  footsteps.  That  eye  that  has  wept  for  you,  will  weep 
no  more  ;  that  tongue  that  was  eloquent  in  prayer,  is 
silent  in  the  tomb ;  that  heart  which  glowed  with  such 
holy  emotion  for  your  salvation,  is  cold  in  death  ;  it  will 
beat  no  more  for  you.  What  then,  beloved  ? — Arise, 
and  weep  for  yourselves ;  arise,  and  pray  for  yourselves  ; 
arise,  and  address  yourselves  to  the  journey.  It  is  not 
long;  the  sunbeams  are  waning,  the  day  is  all  but  gone ; 
the  night  shades  are  falling  thick  and  fast  around  you. 
Arise,  and  ^'seek  the  Lord  while  He  may  be  found,  and 
call  upon  Him  while  He  is  near."  It  may  be  the  last 
time  the  voice  of  mercy  shall  break  upon  your  ear  ;  the 
last  time  He  shall  woo  you  to  the  wounds  of  a  bleeding 
Jesus  ;  the  last  time  the  Spirit  shall  strive ;  the  last 
moment  God  may  wait  your  cry.  Come,  come  now. 
God  help  you  all  to  come  !  Amen. 


THE  FUNERAL  AT  THE  GATE  OF  NAIN. 

REV.   W.   D.  HORWOOD. 

ST.  James's  chapel,  pontypool. 

""Behold,  there  was  a  dead  man  carried  out,  the  only  son  of  his  mother, 

and  she  was  a  widow.'' — Luke  vii:  12. 

npHE  city  of  ^ain,  whither  our  Lord  was  journeying, 
and  at  the  gate  of  which  this  great  miracle  was 
wrought,  is  not  mentioned  elsewhere  in  Scripture.  It 
lay  upon  the  southern  border  of  Galilee,  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Endor,  about  two  miles  south  from  Mount  Tabor, 
uud  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Hermon.     At  present  it  is  but 


YOUTH.  155 

a  poor  and  deserted  village,  consisting  only  of  a  few- 
houses,  yet  from  the  ruins  scattered  round,  it  must  have 
been  formerly  of  considerable  extent,  though  now  no 
monument  of  antiquity  is  to  be  found  there.  That  our 
Lord  should  meet  the  funeral  at  the  gatcef  the  city,  may 
be  considered  nothing  more  than  a  natural  circumstance, 
to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  Jews  did  not  suffei 
the  interrini2:  of  the  dead  in  towns,  but  had  their  burial 
places  without  the  walls.  Probably  there  was  very  much 
in  the  circumstances  of  the  sad  procession,  to  excite  a 
feeling  of  sympathy  and  pity  even  among  those  who  were 
not  generally  touched  with  a  lively  feeling  for  human 
sorrows  ;  and  it  was  this,  no  doubt,  which  had  l/rought 
*'  much  people'-'  together  to  accompany  the  bier.  Indeed, 
it  would  be  hard  to  make  the  picture  of  desolai  .on  more- 
complete,  than  that  described  by  the  evangelist-  -"  There 
was  a  dead  man  carried  out  the  only  son  of  hia  mother, 
and  she  was  a  widoiu.''''  And  such  was  the  bitterness  of 
the  mourning  for  an  only  son,  that  it  had  passed  into  a 
proverb:  thus,  in  Jeremiah,  6:  26,  ''Make  thee  mourn- 
ing as  for  an  only  son,  most  bitter  lamentation  ; "  and  in 
Zachariah,  12:  10,  "They  shall  mourn  for  him  as  one 
mourneth  for  his  only  son  ;"  and  again,  Amos  8:  10,  ''I 
w411  make  it  as  the  mourning  of  an  only  son." 

I.  In  treating  upon  our  subject,  the  first  thing  that 
arrests  our  attention  is  a  dead  body,  a  corpse,  being  car- 
ried in  its  shroud,  not  in  a  closed-up  coffin,  upon  the 
shoulders  of  men  to  its  grave.  This  now,  as  then,  as 
i-espects  the  corpse,  is  no  unusual  circumstance.  As  the 
body  is  passing  us  we  look,  it  may  be,  vacantly  upon  the 
procession ;  it  is  no  strange  sight  to  us.  We  turn  aside 
from  it,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  our  daily  avocations. 
And  if  we  are  led  to  think  about  the  matter  at  all,  our 
thoughts  pass  from  ourselves  to  the  deceased.  We 
ascribe  the  death  of  such  to  natural  causes.     We  say,  so 


156  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

and  Ko  died  of  an  internal  complaint,  of  old  age,  of  a 
fever,  of  consumption,  or  of  some  other  disorder ;  and 
then  we  move  along  as  though  the  destroyer  was  far 
away  from  ourselves.  It  may  be  we  go  a  little  further 
into  the  subject,  especially  when  the  loved  and  the  dear 
are  taken  away  from  our  own  hearts  and  homes,  and 
pause  a  moment  in  our  career  of  pleasure  and  traffic,  to 
wonder  at  the  stroke,  to  bend  in  sorrow  beneath  it,  and 
to  ask  the  question,  the  individual  question,  'What 
would  be  my  fate,  my  destiny  hereafter,  if  I  should  soon 
die  too  ?'  But  this  is  only  a  momentary  pause  ;  a  rapid- 
ly passing  wonder;  a  slight  and  shallow  impression. 
Things,  we  say,  must  and  will  take  their  own  natural 
courses.  We  cannot  alter  them,  why  then  should  they 
trouble  us  ?  '''  Let  us  eat  and  drink,"  say  some.  '  Soul, 
thou  hast  laid  up  much  store  for  the  future ;  take  thine 
ease,'  says  another.  And  thus,  amid  oar  engagements 
and  procrastinations,  worldly  hopes  and  expectations, 
passions  and  tendencies  of  heart,  death  tolls  out  its  sum- 
mons from  the  church-tower  and  the  grave  opens  and 
closes  upon  its  victim. 

1.  But  is  there  nothing  more  connected  with  the 
death  of  the  body,  than  its  mere  passing  away  into  the 
dust — than  the  bhmk  it  makes  in  our  hearts  and  homes? 
Wliy  was  the  young  man,  in  the  text,  snatched  from  his 
mother  ?  Why  is  this  dark  visitant  of  man  allowed  to 
cast  his  shadow  upon  our  hearths,  to  fill  our  souls  witli 
mourning,  and  to  crowd  our  cemeteries  with  monuments 
of  woe  ?  Why  ?  To  teach  us  the  dreadful  nature  of  sin  ! 
Sin,  in  its  first  entrance  into  our  common  parents — in  its 
transmission  from  generation  to  generation — in  its  ac- 
tual commission.  And,  we  ask  you,  must  there  not  be 
something  very  awful  and  dreadful  in  the  nature  of  sin 
itself,  when  its  ''wages  is  death" — death  physical,  death 
spiritual ;  death  as  it  stops  and  freezes  up  the  current  of 


tOtJT^.  15t 

our  blood,  and  death  as  it  hardens  the  heart  and  banishes 
the  soul  from  God,  from  Christ,  from  heaven  !  Regard 
it,  not  simply  in  its  different  aspects,  neitlier  only  in  its 
miserable  results,  nor  merely  in  its  final  destiny,  but  as 
?i  principle  waging  war  against  the  majesty  and  holiness 
of  Deity,  and  against  our  best  interests,  our  noblest  and 
highest  faculties,  our  peace  and  hapi^iness  on  earth,  and 
our  hopes  of  glory  in  the  world  to  come.  It  is  God's 
bitterest  enemy.  It  is  man's  curse  and  destroyer.  We 
are  too  apt  to  pass  it  over  with  indifference.  We  give  to 
sin  a  narrow  and  a  temporal  limitation,  both  as  to  its 
character  and  its  consequences.  We  have  so  many  ex- 
cuses for  it,  so  many  apologies.  We  say  it  does  no  harm, 
if  ive  deem  it  simple  and  natural.  We  think  God  is  too 
merciful  to  punish  us  for  little  negligences  or  trifling 
acts  of  disobedience  ;  we  think  that  a  lie  or  an  oath  may 
pass  our  lips  unheeded,  unheard,  and  be  forgotten.  We 
think  a  violated  Sabbath,  or  an  unread  Bible,  or  an  un- 
occupied pew  in  the  time  of  Divine  service,  is  of  no  con- 
sequence— a  matter  easily  to  be  overlooked  and  forgiven. 
We  draw  our  distinctions  between  omissions  of  good  and 
commissions  of  evil  ;  and  we  readily,  most  readily,  come 
to  any  plausible  conclusions,  which  suit  our  own  notions 
about  what  is  right  and  about  what  is  wrong,  irrespec- 
tively of  the  Scriptures.  But  think  of  sin  as  it  is  in  the 
sight  of  God  :  a  principle  of  disobedience,  showing  itself 
in  a  firm  habitual  forgetfulness  of  God.  And  in  order 
that  you  may  form  a  right  conception  of  His  anger 
against  it,  look  upon  the  corpse — the  corpse  of  the  young 
— in  its  passage  to  corruption  ;  and  as  your  eye  rests  up- 
on the  bleeding  heart  behind  the  bier,  let  your  imagina- 
tion carry  you  further  into  Hades,  where  God's  anger 
follows  sin  still  in  the  bitter  outcry  of  a  Dives,  and  in 
the  fire  which  is  never  extinguished,  and  in  the  worm 
which  never  dies. 


15S  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

2.  It  is  said,  the  *'dead  man  was  carried  out."  How 
humiliating  to  our  human  nature  !  What  a  mockery  at 
pride  !  What  a  blow  to  the  proud  vauntings  of  ambi- 
tion !  What  a  lesson  on  the  folly  of  pampering  that 
which  ere  long  will  be  the  food  of  worms  !  Carried  out  I 
a  mass  of  clay,  yielding  to  the  inroads  of  a  loathsome 
rottenness — helpless,  without  strength,  without  life  !  A 
young  man  too  ;  an  only  son.  The  vigor  of  his  days  are 
cut  off.  His  eye  no  longer  looks  upon  the  fond  and 
weeping  mother  dear,  bending  over  him, — no  longer  up- 
on the  beautiful  things  of  earth,  nor  upon  the  shining 
stars,  and  sun,  and  moon.  His  ear  also  is  deaf  to  the 
voice  of  affection,  to  the  sound  of  music  or  the  roar  of 
thunder.  All  is  still  and  dumb  now  upon  that  death- 
couch  of  his.  Carried  out !  as  you  and  I  shall  be  when 
our  time  comes.  But  the  soul,  was  that  carried  out  too? 
We  have  no  authority  for  saying  it  was  in  the  body ;  for 
if  that  had  been  the  case  it  would  not  have  been  dead. 
When  the  body  dies  the  soul  quits  its  tabernacle  ;  it 
passes  into  its  eternity ;  it  lives  on  when  the  house  that 
sheltered  it  is  crumbled  into  ashes.  The  soul,  then,  is 
invaluable.  What  will  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  it  ? 
How  ought  we  to  watch  over  it — to  pray  to  God  our 
Saviour  for  its  pardon,  its  deliverance,  its  sanctification, 
and  for  its  everlasting  safety  and  glorification  !  It  must 
be  admitted,  that  no  sacrifice  is  too  dear,  nor  any  effort  is 
too  strong,  for  the  reward  to  be  carried  by  angels  into 
Abraham's  bosom,  and  for  the  avoidance  of  the  punish- 
ment to  be  carried  by  fiends  into  the  terrors  of  the  lost. 

II.  This  young  man,  we  are  told,  had  a  another,  and 
that  mother  was  a  luidoio.  She  had  followed  one  beloved 
to  his  tomb,  and  she  was  now  following  another.  The 
bonds  of  her  heart  had  loosened  their  hold  upon  one 
dear  object,  but  in  their  loosening  they  clung  to  her  child. 
While  he  lived,  there  was  still  a  link  between  her  and 


lier  home  ;  but  when  this  link  was  broken  her  home  and 
her  spirit  were  made  desolate.  Who  does  not  feel  for 
this  widow  and  childless  mother  ? 

But  all  this  affliction  was  sent  to  her  in  mercy,  to 
teach  her,  and  us  also,  the  uncertain  hold  we  all  have  of 
earthly  comforts.  These  comforts  may  fix  themselves  so 
deeply,  so  fixedly,  and  so  endearingly  within  our  hearts, 
as  to  become  idols  there.  They  may  be  ever  imaged  in 
our  memories,  entwined  about  our  brightest  hopes, 
centered  in  our  warmest  affections,  swallowing  up  tlie 
greatest  portion  of  our  thoughts,  united  to  our  most 
anxious  cares,  and  forming  the  mightiest  motive  of  our 
daily  exertions.  God  is  jealous  of  these  idols ;  and  He 
sweeps  them  down.  He  wrings  from  the  soul  of  one, 
"  0    Absalom,  my  son,   my  son  !"  and  from  another, 

'*Let  the  day  perish  wherein  I  was  born For  the 

thing  which  I  greatly  feared  is  come  upon  me,  and  that 
which  I  was  afraid  of  is  come  unto  me" — (Job  iii :  3, 
25).  He  takes  the  infant  from  the  mother's  bosom,  in 
order  that  her  spirit  may  travel  after  it  to  the  realms  of 
angels ;  He  smites  the  gourd  which  has  promised  to 
flourish  and  to  shelter,  that  we  may  set  our  affections 
upon  things  heavenly,  and  not  upon  things  earthly. 

Happy  shall  we  be,  my  brethren,  if  the  end  of  tlie 
affliction  is  answered  in  our  own  salvation  ;  if  the  aching 
and  bleeding  heart  turns  to  its  Redeemer,  and  leans  and 
builds  upon  Him  as  the  Rock  of  Ages,  the  unchangeable 
and  everlasting  foundation  of  all  those  who  trust  in  His 
mercy,  and  who  give  the  whole  of  their  hearts  to  God. 
and  who  fly  to  Him  as  the  never-failing  refuge  of  His 
people.  Even  now,  beloved,  does  He  say  to  us,  '^  He  tliat 
loveth  father  or  mother,  sister  or  brother,  husband  or 
wife,  son  or  daughter,  more  than  Me,  is  not  worthy  of 
Me  :"'  still  does  He  say  to  us  individually — ^' Give  Me  thy 
heart."     And  if  our  hearts  be  given  to  Him,  He  will  so 


160  Memorial    tutbutes. 

bless  them,  that  we  shall  say  with  Asaph — '*  Whom  have 
I  in  heaven  but  Thee  ?  and  what  is  there  upon  earth  I 
desire  beside  Thee  ?" 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  BELIEVER  IN  JESUS. 

KEY.  JAMES  HEKRY  GWITHER,  ENGLAND. 

IN    THE   PAEISH   CHURCH   OF   YARDLEY,   ENGLAND. 
ON  THE  DEATH  OF  MISS  ELIZABETH  H. 

"  Them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus." — 1  Thess.  iv:  14 

TT7E  are  indebted  to  Divine  revelation  for  all  the  cer- 
*  tain  knowledge  we  possess  of  a  future  state.  It 
is  true  that  a  light  of  nature  afforded  strong  indications 
of  this  fact,  which  philosophy  set  down  as  evidences,  and 
the  desire  of  a  future  existence  implanted  in  the  human 
mind  magnified  into  proofs ;  but  all  was  dark,  confused, 
and  absurd  speculation,  until  the  Gospel-day  dawned 
upon  the  world,  and  the  shadows  of  doubt  and  uncer- 
tainty fled  away.  Hence  ^'  life  and  immortality  are 
brought  to  light  by  the  Gospel :"  and  what  philosophy 
could  not  do,  in  that  it  was  weak  and  imperfect,  Chris- 
tianity has  done  in  so  satisfactory  and  comprehensive 
a  manner,  that  we  may  say  with  the  apostle,  "Thanks 
be  to  God,  who  always  causeth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ." 
Nov)  a  vista  is  opened  through  the  dark  valley  of 
death,  and  the  eye  of  faith  may  descry  the  glory  which 
waits  to  be  revealed.  The  place  of  the  Great  King  rises 
before  our  enlightened  vision,  and  seems  to  extend  its 
gates  spread  wide  for  our  reception.  The  gloom  of  death 
is  illuminated,  its  solitude  cheered,  its  bitterness  de- 
stroyed, by  the  light,  comforts,  promises  and  hopes  of 
the  Gospel ;  and  the  dying  Christian  is  encouraged  to 
descend  with  confidence  into  the  cold  streams  of  Jordan, 


Totrrff.  ici 

and  to  comrnifc  himself  to  the  waves,  whilst  the  Star  of 
Promise,  shining  upon  the  dark  waters,  guides  him 
homewards.  Death  then,  hath  nothing  formidable  to 
thee,  0  Christian  !  In  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  are 
dissipated  all  the  terrors  which  the  tomb  of  nature  pre- 
sents. In  the  tomb  of  nature,  0  sinner  !  thou  beholdest 
thy  frailty,  thy  subjection  to  the  curse  and  bondage  of 
corruption  ;  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  thou  beholdest 
thy  strength  and  deliverance.  In  the  tomb  of  nature 
the  punishment  of  sin  stares  thee  in  the  face ;  in  the 
tomb  of  Jesus  thou  findest  the  expiation  of  it.  From 
the  tomb  of  nature  thou  hearest  the  dreadful  sentence 
pronounced  against  every  child  of  Adam — ^*  Dust  thou 
art,  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return  ;"  but  from  the 
tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  issue  those  accents  of  consolation — 
''  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life  ;  he  that  believeth  in 
Me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live,"  John  xi.  25. 
In  the  tomb  of  nature  thou  hearest  this  universal,  this 
irrevocable  doom  written,  *'It  is  appointed  unto  man 
once  to  die  ;"  but  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  thy  tongue 
is  loosed  into  this  triumphant  song  of  praise,  '^  0  death! 
where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave  !  where  is  thy  victory  ? 
thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

And,  not  only  are  these  views  of  death  and  these  pros- 
pects of  future  glory  to  the  sincere  believer  animating 
and  encouraging,  when  taken  in  connection  with  his  own 
dissolution,  but  they  are  especially  so  when  he  has  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  beloved  Christian  relatives  and  friends. 
Taken  from  our  arms  !  Whither  are  they  conveyed  ? 
They  have  arrived  at  home  ;  they  are  not  lost — oh!  no — 
they  have  reached  their  Father's  house — they  are  infinite- 
ly better  and  luippier  than  when  with  us.  The  separa- 
tion we  are  called  to  endure,  be  assured,  is  only  tem- 
porary.   A  time  of  re-union  will  come  ;  we  shall  see  their 


16^  MEMORtAL     TRtBUTES. 

faces  and  hear  their  voices  again  in  the  flesh.     Oh  !  ho\\ 
cheering  a  consolation  !  how  suitable  and  how  sure  ! 

*^  Brethren,  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant  con- 
cerning them  which  are  asleep. 

I.  The  description  here  given  us  of  the  death  of  true 
believers.     ^'  Them  that  sleep  in  Jesus." 

1,  ^^  They  slecp.^^  Under  the  dispensation  of  the 
Gospel  the  term  sleep  is  frequently  made  use  of  in  the 
Scriptures  to  signify  death.  In  the  case  of  the  ruler's 
daughter,  our  blessed  Lord  was  applied  to,  to  exert  His 
power  in  the  restoration  of  the  damsel  from  the  dead. 
'^My  daughter,"  said  the  distressed,  broken-hearted 
parent,  *''is  even  now  dead,  but  come  and  lay  Thine 
hand  upon  her  and  she  shall  live."  Accordingly,  ^'as 
soon  as  Jesus  came  into  the  ruler's  house,  and  saw  the 
minstrels  and  people  making  a  noise.  He  said  unto  them. 
Give  place,  for  the  maid  is  not  dead,  but  sleepeth.'^  On 
another  occasion,  when  desirous  to  inform  His  disciples 
of  a  message  which  had  been  sent  unto  Him  by  the 
weeping  and  disconsolate  sisters  of  Bethany,  relative  to 
to  their  brother's  death,  Jesus  mildly  says,  "  Our  friend 
Lazarus  sleepeth,  but  I  go  that  I  may  awake  him  out  of 
sleep."  Concerning  the  dying  maj-tyr  Stephen  also,  it  is 
recorded,  amidst  infuriated  persecutors,  blood-thirsty 
enemies,  and  showers  of  stones,  ''he  kneeled  down  and 
prayed,  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge ;  and 
when  he  had  said  this  he  fell  asleep.''  David  by  the 
apostle  Paul,  is  also  honorably  mentioned  as  '^  after 
having  served  his  generation  according  to  the  will  of 
God,  fallen  o?i  sleep;''  and  in  a  word,  the  term  is 
constantly  by  the  apostles  referred  to  those  who  die  in 
the  Lord. 

The  term  is  peculiarly  applicable  in  this  point  of 
view.  It  is  expressive  of  the  ease  and  readiness  with 
which  a  Christian  dies.      *'Mark  the  perfect  man,  and 


YOUTH.  163 

behold  the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace." 
He  is  *^ justified  by  faith,  and  has  peace  with  God." 
The  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Christ  has  purged  his 
conscience,  and  destroyed  the  sting  of  death,  which  is 
sin.  His  hope  is  cast  upon  the  Eock  of  Ages — his  soul 
is  committed  into  the  hands  of  One  who  is  able  to  keep 
it — his  sins  are  all  forgiven — his  heart  sanctified  by  the 
indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit — his  title  clear  to  the 
heavenly  inheritance — and  thus,  as  easily  and  readily  as 
a  weary  and  way-worn  traveler  retires  to  rest,  so  does  the 
Christian  enter  into  rest  and  sleep  in  Jesus.  And  this 
rest  is  pure,  undisturbed,  and  everlasting.  *"'  They  shall 
rest  from  their  labors."  Then  their  praying  days  will 
be  all  over.  Never  more  can  it  be  said  to  them,  ^'Be 
patient  in  tribulation,"  or  ^^  Fight  the  good  fight  of 
faith."  "Without  ivere  fightings,  and  within  ivere 
fears."  But  they  are  for  ever  ended.  Darkness  no 
longer  struggles  with  light,  or  faith  with  unbelief. 
"  The  flesh  "  no  longer  "lusteth  against  the  spirit,  nor 
the  spirit  against  the  flesh." 

Ye  glorified  saints,  you  can  tell  us  what  this 
blessed  rest,  this  sleeping  in  Jesus  is.  You  have  tra- 
versed the  v/ilderness,  where  you  wandered  in  a  solitary 
way — where  you  found  no  continuing  city — where  hungry 
and  thirsty  your  "  soul  fainted  within  you  ;"  but  you 
have  left  the  desert — you  have  passed  the  Jordan — you 
are  come  to  your  rest — and  your  pilgrim  feet  have  ter- 
minated their  earthly  labors.  Your  week  days,  your 
worldly  days,  are  now  over,  and  you  have  begun  Sabbath. 
Here  you  loved  the  Sabbath,  but  here  the  Sabbath  was 
soon  gone.  You  sometimes  passed  silent  Sabbaths,  and 
had  to  mourn  the  loss  of  sanctuary  ordinances.  You 
always  spent  imperfect  ones;  you  could  not  do  the  things 
which  you  would  ;  and  you  grew  weary  in  the  sei-vice 
oi"  God,  though  not  of   it.     But  now  your  strength  is 


164  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTm. 

renewed — you  are  '^  for  ever  with  the  Lord  " — you 
''serve  Him  day  and  night  in  His  temple" — you  have 
the  ''keeping  of  Sabbath  which  remains  for  the  people 
of  God." 

But  sleep,  as  applied  to  the  death  of  a  believer,  does 
not  only  intimate  the  peace  loitli  loliich  lie  departs  hence 
and  the  rest  he  is  eternally  to  enjoy,  but  it  may  express 
also  the  expectation  and  hope  he  has  of  a  future  resur- 
rection.  We  lie  down  to  rest  in  sleep,  expecting  (if  the 
Lord  will)  again  to  arise  refreshed  and  strengthened  for 
the  duties  of  another  day.  We  commit  ourselves  to 
slumber,  relying  on  the  guardian  care  of  "Him  who 
never  slumbereth  or  sleepeth  "  to  protect  and  defend  us, 
and  also  enable  us  to  wake  with  renewed  vigor.  And 
such  hope  has  every  believer.  "Now  is  Christ  risen 
from  the  dead,  the  first-fruits  of  them  who  slept." 
Death  and  the  grave  have  no  longer  power  to  retain  one 
single  body  in  their  dominion.  So,  then,  the  believer 
only  sleeps  ;  he  lays  his  head  upon  the  lap  of  earth  ; 
the  tomb  is  the  resting  place,  the  couch  on  which  the 
Aveiiry  body  shall  repose  until  the  dawn  of  the  resurrec- 
tion morning.  Then  shall  the  slumbering  dead  arise, 
"the  trumpets  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be 
raised."  How  truly  refreshing — with  what  immortal 
bloom  shall  the  glorified  bodies  of  the  saints  appear 
washed  !  "This  corruptible  will  put  on  incorruption, 
and  this  mortal  put  on  immortality."  Every  form  then 
shall  appear  perfected  in  the  image  of  Christ — not  an 
eye  but  shall  sparkle  with  delight — not  a  brow  on  which 
shall  not  be  placed  a  wreath  of  victor}^ — not  a  counte- 
nance that  shall  not  be  radiant  with  the  Redeemer's 
glory — not  a  soul  or  body  that  shall  not  be  swallowed  up 
of  bliss. 

Believers  only  sleep  ;  let  a  few  more  years  roll  over 
their  tombs — let  a  few  more  revolutions  shake  the  world 


YOUTH.  165 

— and  then  shall  be  seen  ^^the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man 
in  heaven,"  coming  to  gather  together  His  saints,  unite 
their  glorified  souls  to  their  spiritual  and  incorruptible 
bodies,  that  so  both  may  **  ever  be  with  the  Lord." 
*^  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these  words." 

2.  The  second  description  afforded  of  the  death  of 
believers  is,  they  sleep  '^ In  Jesus.''  To  such  who  have 
attentively  examined  the  character  and  profession  of  a 
true  Christian,  it  must  have  been  evident  that  with  them 
Jesus  "is  all  and  in  all."  To  them  He  is  every  thing. 
He  is  their  life;  and  the  "life  they  now  live  in  the  flesh 
is  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  them  and 
gave  Himself  for  them."  Nor  is  He  le^s  the  preserver 
and  security,  than  "the  Author  and  Giver"  of  their 
spiritual  life  ;  "because  I  live,"  saith  He,  "ye  shall  live 
also."  "Your  life,"  saith  Paul,  "is  hid  with  Christ  in 
God."  He  is  their  strength;  "they  can  do  all  things 
only  through  Christ  who  strengtheneth  them,"  and  are 
alone  "  strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus."  In 
a  word.  He  "  is  of  God  made  unto  them  wisdom  and 
rigliteousness,  santification  and  redemption."  Are  they 
justified  from  the  guilt  and  condemnation  of  sin  ?  it  is 
by  Jesus.  "There  is  no  condemnation  to  them  who  are 
in  Christ  Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh  but  after 
the  Spirit."  Are  they  sanctified,  body,  soul,  and  spirit  ? 
it  is  "by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Are  they 
accepted  of  God  ?  it  is  only  through  the  Beloved.  Are 
they  reconciled  to  God  ?  "  He  is  their  peace,  who  hath 
made  both  one,  and  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of 
separation."  Are  they  7iei>5  of  God,  adopted  into  His 
family,  made  partakers  of  the  Divine  nature,  and  ex- 
pectants of  the  Divine  glory  ?  they  are  only  "  children 
of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus."  Thus  nil  they  are,  all 
they  hope  to  be  is  througli  Him;  all  thoy  have  in  pos- 
session, all  they  anticipate  in  re-union,  all  of  grace  here, 


^66  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

all  of  glory  hereafter,  is  of  Him,  from  Him,  by  Him. 
And  what  effect  has  this  sentiment  upon  their  Christian 
deportment  and  experience  ?  It  weans  them  from  earth  ; 
"Esteeming  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than 
all  the  treasures"  of  the  world.  It  is  the  spring  of  their 
obedience;  for  they  "are  not  their  own,  and  live  not 
^mto  themselves,  but  to  Him  who  died  for  them  and 
rose  again."  It  is  their  support  in  weakness,  their  hope 
m  darkness,  their  joy  in  sorrow,  their  comfort  in  afflic- 
tion, their  triumph  in  death.  So  then,  Christ  is  "the 
A.lpha  and  Omega,"  "  the  First  and  the  Last,"  "their 
Chief  Corner  Stone,"  "all  their  salvation,  and  all  their 
desire."  And  such  being  the  case  through  life,  it  has 
its  influence  in  death.  Jesus  appears  truly  precious  to 
the  lereaved  and  afflicted,  to  the  tempted  and  persecuted 
leliever.  His  word  is  always  a  cordial — His  grace 
always  sufficient — His  smile  always  inspiring  bliss  un- 
speakable— His  consolations  «Z?6'<2?/s  abundant;  but  never 
so  truly  so  as  in  the  hour  of  death.  Life  is  departing; 
but  he  clings  with  a  more  endearing  grasp  to  Jesus. 
Time  is  fading;  but  the  clouds  and  mists  which  obscure 
all  temporal  things  are  clearing  away  from  the  face  of 
Jesus,  that  he  may  see  Him  more  perfectly. 

Friends,  kind  and  affectionate,  are  weeping  around 
his  dying  bed,  and  waiting  for  his  departing  blessing — 
each  lingering  behind  the  other,  to  catch  the  dying  gaze, 
or  hear  the  last  sigh,  and  he  feels  desolate  and  alone,  as 
one  after  another  vanishes  from  his  vision.  But  Jesus 
departs  not — Jesus  forsakes  him  not ;  He  is  the  strength 
of  his  guilty  flesh  and  heart,  and  lifts  up  his  head  when 
bowed  in  death  ;  the  presence  of  Jesus  is  all  he  requires, 
and  the  promises  of  Jesus  all  he  desires.  But  behold  ! 
the  last  struggle  is  come — he  pants  for  breath — now 
blesses  his  family — now  he  utters  his  last  prayer — now 
his  fluttering  heart  is  still — his  eyes  liave  for  ever  closed 


YOUTH.  167 

— his  head  plainly  sinks  upon  the  pillow.  Hark  !  he 
breathes  not — all  is  over,  and  he  sleeps  in  Jestis.  Dis- 
turb not  his  slumbers  !  he  sleeps  !  peace  reigns  in  his 
heart,  and  a  smile  beams  upon  the  pallid  cheek.  He 
sleeps  !  composed  to  slumber,  he  awaits  the  sounding  of 
the  archangel's  trump,  to  awaken  bis  body  to  life. 

Thus  you  have  been  led  to  view  tbe  twofold  descrip- 
tion of  the  death  of  a  Christian.  I  might  easily  enlarge, 
but  I  forbear ;  enough  I  trust  has  been  said,  to  lead  you 
all  to  adopt  the  language  of  one  of  old,  and  saj^  "Let 
me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end 
be  like  his." 

Beloved  brethren,  I  have  very  faintly  and  imperfect- 
ly sketched  the  picture  of  the  Christian's  death ;  but  I 
would  lead  you  to  seek  to  become  such  3'ourselves,  that 
you  may  for  yourselves  experience  what  peace  they  have 
who  sleej)  in  Jesus.  But  I  must  apply  the  remarhs  al- 
ready made  to  the  case  of  our  dear  departed  friend  and 
sister  in  tlie  Lord.  Without  hesitation  would  we  say,  it 
is  our  hope,  yea,  our  firm  belief,  that  she  sleeps  in  Jesus. 
Early  in  life,  her  mind  became  the  subject  of  serious 
religious  impressions,  and  she  was  always  remarked  for 
being  blessed  with  a  peculiarly  tender  conscience.  By 
the  reading  of  God's  Word,  and  regular  attendance  upon 
the  means  of  grace,  her  religious  feelings  expanded,  and 
her  convictions  of  sin  became  very  strong,  and  the  con- 
sciousness of  her  depravity  preyed  much  upon  her  mind, 
and  for  some  years  greatly  cast  her  down  in  spirit.  She 
was  at  last  enabled  to  look  to  Jesus,  and  by  simple  faith 
to  commit  the  keeping  of  her  soul  into  His  hands,  rely- 
ing entirely  upon  His  blood  and  righteousness  for  pardon 
and  acceptance  with  God. 

Hers  was  not  a  dead,  or  an  unproductive  faith.  No  ; 
she  evinced  the  power  of  godliness,  by  attendance  upon 
its  forms.     Her  diligent  labors  in  the  Sunday  school 


168  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

connected  with  this  churchy  her  self-denial  in  acts  of 
piety  and  chanty  to  the  poor,  her  desire  for,  and  labor 
in,  promoting  the  cause  of  her  Lord  and  Master,  in 
collecting  for  the  Church  Missionary  and  other  kindred 
societies,  her  yisits  to  the  house  of  *'the  widow  and 
fatherless  in  their  affliction,^'  and  her  constant,  up- 
right, consistent  profession  of  piety  in  her  family — all 
these  things,  my  dear  hearers,  speak  louder  than  any 
words  of  mine,  in  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  our  departed 
sister's  religion. 


WHAT  WILL  YE  DO  IN  THE  END  ? 

KEY.  THOMAS   BINiTEY. 

WEIGH-nOUSE  CHAPEL,  LONDON, 

^^What  will  YE  do  in  the  «w<? ?"— Jeremiah  v  :  31. 
TN  consistency  with  the  very  general  custom,  I  am 
■^  about  to-night,  as  we  are  at  the  commencement  of 
the  year,  to  address  myself  to  young  persons,  making  par- 
ticular reference  to  the  circumstances,  history  and  death 
of  a  young  man,  -at  the  age  of  twenty-one. 

His  end  was,  peace.  What  will  yours  be  ?  My  text 
will  be  a  question,  which  you  will  find  in  the  fifth  chapter 
of  Jeremiah,  and  the  last  clause  of  the  last  verse  : — 

1.  In  the  first  place,  I  observe,  then  there  is  an  end, 
to  anticipate. 

'''All  men,"  as  Young  says — 

*' All  men  think  all  men  mortal  but  themselves." 

They  may  not  say  it ;  they  might  reject  the  thought, 
if  presenting  itself  very  distinctly  in  their  intellect ;  but 
they  feel  it,  and  act  as  if  it  were  true.  But  we  know 
it  to  be  a  deception,  and  we  know  it  to  be  dangerous. 


YOUTH.  169 

Tliere  is  an  end.  An  end  to  life  :  to  every  course  of 
life — every  kind  of  it.  Honors  cannot  be  accumulated 
for  ever ;  nor  profits  made  for  ever ;  nor  pleasures  en- 
joyed for  ever.  Every  step  is  getting  nearer  to  the  ter- 
mination. 

And  it  may  be  soon  :  sudden.  Where  are  the  young 
men,  after  a  little  while,  that  from  every  part  of  the 
country,  at  all  times  throughout  the  year,  are  being  drifted 
hither  as  by  a  strong  tide  setting  in  from  every  point 
round  about,  and  bringing  them  to  our  doors,  our  streets, 
our  warehouses  ?  What  is  this  great  metropolis  to  them 
— many  of  them  ?  A  great  gulf,  into  which  they  are 
drifted — and  drifted — and  drifted  ;  and  many  of  them 
appear  for  a  little  while  and  vanish  for  ever. 

Now  you  know  this.  You  know  what  changes  you 
young  men  are  continually  seeing  in  the  place,  in  the 
company,  in  the  servants,  the  agents,  of  mercantile  es- 
tablishments :  how  you  miss  such  and  such  an  individual. 
You  saw  him  last  perhaps  at  a  place  of  amusement ; 
you  saw  him  last  in  the  midst  of  pleasures — and  perhaps 
guilty  ones.  You  wonder  what  is  become  of  him.  What 
is  become  of  him  !  the  young  man  has  gone  home  to  die. 
And  from  our  warehouses,  our  offices  and  our  streets,  our 
places  of  business  and  places  of  pleasure,  one  after  another 
is  retiring  to  die!  Thus  the  change  is  continually  go- 
ing on. 

"  What  will  ye  do  in  the  end  ?"  Then — this  would 
seem  to  be  of  great  importance  at  the  end. 

2.  What  has  been  the  character  of  the  course  ? 

If ''the  end"  were  to  be  taken  absolutely,  with  the 
absoluteness  of  infidelity,  the  question  would  have  no 
meaning.  ''  What  will  ye  do  in  the  end  ?"  '  Nothing; 
for  I  shall  he  nothing.'  '  What  shall  I  do  in  the  end  ?  I 
shall  do  just  what  I  did  before  I  was  born — when  I  had 
jiut  an  existence — when  I  was  not ;  for  I  shall  be  that 


170  MEM  OUT  A  L      TRIBUTES. 

again.'  If  infidelity  be  true,  that  would  be  the 
reply. 

I  know,  that  some  teach  what  I  suppose  they  may 
think  a  very  magnificent  and  beautiful  thing — the  im- 
mortality of  man  in  the  sense  of  the  immortality  of  the 
species,  and  its  indefinite,  perpetual  improvement.  As 
if  it  were  any  thing  to  me — to  my  heart  with  its  innate 
hunger  after  life,  with  my  affections  and  capacities  and 
conscious  individuality  of  being — to  tell  me  about  the  in- 
dividuals of  some  future  generation  that  are  to  exist.  To 
tell  me  to  rejoice  in  a  thing  like  that  ! — when  I  am  to  be 
nothing,  and  there  is  only  to  be  this  sort  of  abstract  im- 
mortality of  the  species. 

No.  "  What  will  ye  do  in  the  end  ?"  It  is  a  matter 
that  is  to  come  home  to  our  own  business,  character  and 
course,  in  relation  to  ourselves.  For  our  moral  instincts, 
general  experience,  consciousness,  the  representations  of 
Scripture  tell  us,  that  as  we  approach  the  end,  and  when 
we  get  there,  the  character  of  the  course  will  be  (if  I  may 
so  express  it)  of  more  importance  than  it  is  now  :  of  more 
importance  at  the  end  than  previously — previously  where 
there  is  merciful  discipline,  where  there  is  a  mixture  of 
circumstances,  where  there  is  the  opportunity  of  change, 
where  there  are  all  the  appliances  of  providence  and  grace. 

At  "  the  end,"  when  all  these  are  about  to  be  re- 
moved for  ever,  it  will  be  of  the  highest  possible  import- 
ance, what  has  been  the  character  of  the  course,  on  which 
they  have  been  impressed.  So  that  looking  upon  the 
dead  man,  it  is  not  so  much  a  question  with  God,  how 
the  man  died,  as  what  the  man  was  when  he  came  to  die 
— hoAv  he  got  there — what  was  the  character  of  the 
course  tliat  brought  him  to  that  point. 

"  3.  What  will  ye  do  in  the  end?" 

It  is  the  part  of  a  thoughtful  and  wise  man,  often  to 
meditate  on  this. 


TOUTR.  171 

I  need  not  enlarge  liere.  Every  man  admits  it  in 
matters  of  worldly  experience.  The  student,  at  his  col- 
lege and  in  his  class,  if  month  after  month  he  neglects 
his  studies  and  abandons  his  books,  if  he  gives  neither 
his  days  nor  nights  to  the  hearty  and  fearless  pursuit  of 
those  things  which  are  to  prepare  him  for  the  ultimate 
examination,  and  if,  when  he  goes  up  and  presents  him- 
self there,  he  is  rejected,  it  is  what  he  had  to  anticipate, 
and  what  might  have  been  prevented  if  he  had  been 
more  in  the  habit  of  pressing  this  question  to  his  heart, 
and  tliinking  with  respect  to  his  pursuits  what  would  be 
^'the  end"  of  the  course  which  he  was  taking.  And  to 
you,  my  friends, — I  need  not  to  many  of  you  expatiate 
on  the  absurdity  of  the  tradesman,  that  should  never 
take  stock  :  that  should  go  on  from  year  to  year,  witliout 
understanding  his  position — without  inquiring  into  it : 
that  should  go  on  continually  incurring  expense,  and 
laying  out  money,  and  accepting  bills, — doing  this,  that 
and  the  other,  and  never  investigate,  and  never  know 
precisely  Avhere  he  was.  If  ruin  came,  ruin  crushing 
him  and  trampling  him  down, — if  lie  were  to  awake 
some  morning,  and  find  himself  utterly  ruined,  you 
would  not  be  surprised.  He  should  have  asked  himself 
the  question,  and  pressed  it  again  and  again  upon  his 
heart.     Going  on  thus,  whither  will  it  lead  ?  whither  ? 

4.  In  the  last  place,  we  think  that  this  question 
should  be  frequently  and  earnestly  entertained  by  young 
men.  We  think,  that  young  men  would  do  well  to  press 
this  question,  m  its  moral  and  religious  sense  and  aspect, 
upon  themselves. 

It  might  be  thought  perhaps,  that  it  is  of  more  im- 
portance for  those  who  have  gone  further  on  in  their 
course,  and  nearer  to  the  end.  It  is  very  important  to 
them  :  but  let  me  tell  you  this, — when  men  have  gone  on 
iind  on.  and  got  iron-bound  in  their  habits  of  indifference. 


172  MEMORIAL     TUIBUTES. 

impenitence,  sin,  I  for  one  liave  very  little  hope  of  tlicni. 
I  do  not  expect  mucli  from  preaching  or  praying,  or  al- 
most any  instrumentality  that  can  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  them.  And  from  the  men  that  have  got  on  in  life, 
and  have  gone  on  without  God,  I  turn  almost  in  despair. 
And  I  turn  to  you,  the  hope  of  the  world  and  of  the 
Church, — you  young  men.  I  look  to  you;  and  I  beg 
you,  because  you  have  not  thus  got  on,  and  got  yet  under 
this  mighty  and  dreadful  influence  of  habit,  to  lay  this 
question  to  heart  at  the  beginning  of  3'our  course,  that  it 
may  have  much  to  do  in  giving  it  a  character  and  fixing 
your  ultimate  destination. 

Yes,  my  young  men,  it  is  important  to  you  to  lay  this 
question  to  heart,  because  it  is  so  important  lioiu  you 
legin :  as  habit  always  will  be  either  your  greatest  friend 
or  your  greatest  adversary.  Important,  because  there  are 
so  many  circumstances  of  danger  round  about  }^ou.  And 
therefore  I  press  it  upon  you,  that  it  should  be  enter- 
tained. 

Many  of  you  are  living  lives  somewhat  solitary,  or 
shut  up  continually  with  associates  of  your  own  sex  in 
your  warehouses,  and  thus  wanting  tha^t  purifying  public 
opinion,  which  comes  upon  the  young  man,  when  he  has 
free  intercourse  in  the  homes,  the  virtuous  homes  of  our 
Christian  country.  You  need  to  press  this  matter  and 
this  question  very  much  upon  you.  You  need  it,  because 
early  in  life  especially  you  will  find  yourselves  surrounded 
by  individuals,  who  will  be  leading  you  astray, — the 
scorner,  the  hardened  in  vice, — temptations  besetting 
your  path  at  every  point ;  and  you  will  be  almost  shamed 
sometimes  into  sin,  from  the  want  (jf  moral  courage  for 
its  resistance.  And  therefore  it  is  important,  that  you 
should  bring  the  moral  suggestions  embodied  in  this 
thought  to  bear  upon  your  understandings,  your  con- 
science, and  your  habits. 


YOtJTB,  \n 

You  are  in  danger,  because  at  your  age  you  cannot 
see  habitually  very  far  before  you,  unless  really  you  do 
make  an  effort  at  reflection.  It  is  your  temptation — it 
is  one  of  the  peculiar  temptations  that  beset  you,  to  feel 
with  respect  to  this  and  that  and  the  other,  which  are 
really  morally  questionable — Why,  what  harm  can  there 
be  in  that  ?  It  is  one  of  your  temptations — '  I  Avill  do 
this,  I  will  go  thus  far,  but  there  I  stop.'  It  is  one  of 
the  circumstances  by  which  you  are  beset,  that  you  just 
see  a  very  little  way  before  you,  and  what  you  see  is  at- 
tractive or  beautiful — or  5^ou  make  it  so.  Forgetting — 
not  knowing  from  your  want  of  deeper  experience  and 
further  observation  of  life,  that  when  once  a  young  man 
enters  within  the  vicious  circle,  his  first  vicious  actions 
are  generally  ^^the  beginning  of  the  end."  He  goes  on 
nt  it ;  he  goes  on  as  he  has  begun  ;  he  goes  onward — on- 
ward— step  by  step,  from  bad  to  worse,  until  he  finds 
himself  completely  in  the  grasp  and  under  the  power  of 
the  adversary. 

We  want  to  press  the  question  upon  you,  because  as 
we  have  already  hinted,  "the  end"  may  come  to  you. 
It  may  come  and  surprise  you,  in  the  midst  of  your  pur- 
posings  and  procrastination.  And  with  respect  to  what 
we  call  vice,  I  should  like  you  to  remember,  that  they 
that  become  thoroughly  and  flagrantly  vicious,  generally 
begin  soon,  and  die  early  too.  They  "do  not  live  out 
half  their  days."  And  they  bring  their  "end  ;"  they  (as 
it  were)  stretch  out  their  hands,  and  seize  it,  and  em- 
brace it,  and  bring  it  nearer  and  nearer  to  them  ;  and 
"  in  the  midst  of  life"  most  emphatically  "  they  are  in 
death  ;"  they  depart,  and  they  are  gone, — "  receiving  the 
end "  of  their  deeds,  "'  even  the  damnation  of  their 
souls." 

I  wish  to  urge  the  question  of  the  text  on  the  undecid- 
ed in  religion  :  on  all  that  are  distinguished  by   irrelig- 


in  MBMOniAL      TRIBUTES* 

iousness, — some  of  whom  may  be  the  virtuous  and  the 
amiable  and  the  good,  socially,  as  well  as  the  bad  and  the 
indifferent.  And  I  should  like  all  such  to  press  the  ques- 
tion home  upon  their  hearts  to-night  before  God. 

Now  by  being  religious,  I  do  not  mean  that  you  are 
to  be  connected  with  that  part  or  branch  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  that  /  prefer. 

But  we  mean,  when  we  say  that  you  are  not  yet  religious, 
that  there  is  the  consciousness  within  you  that  you  do  not 
like  the  Divine  service  ;  that  you  have  not  given  your- 
selves thoroughly,  in  earnest  and  in  heart,  to  the  reception 
of  the  Christian  faith,  to  trust  in  the  Christian  atonement, 
to  dcA^otedness  to  Christian  habits,  to  habitual  intercourse 
and  fellowship  with  God,  to  the  cultivation  of  ^-our  re- 
ligious nature,  and  to  the  manifestation  of  feelings  and 
affections  and  attributes  of  character,  which  disting-uish 
the  spiritually  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  Most  High ; 
that  you  are  conscious  that  your  heart  is  being  kept  back, 
from  some  cause  or  other,  and  you  are  not  wholly  and 
heartily  and  earnestly  decided  for  God  and  for  Jesus 
Christ.' 

I  kijow  why  it  is,  that  many  of  you  are  kept  in  this 
state.  Some  of  you  I  believe  to  be  of  pure  habits,  with 
upright  and  honorable  principle  in  you,  addicted  to 
mental  and  intellectual  qualification.  You  have  your 
pleasures  of  the  intellect ;  you  understand  something  of 
what  results  from  coming  under  the  influence  of  genius, 
and  bringing  your  taste  and  feeling  into  contact  with 
what  is  elevating  in  the  results  of  mind.  You  are  govern- 
ed, in  your  habitual  intercourse  with  mankind,  by  what 
is  right  and  honorable  and  pure,  despising  ever}i^hing  that 
is  mean,  disingenuous,  contemptible.  And  yoic  are  satis- 
fied zvith  that.  And  you  feel  perhaps  something  of  re- 
pugnance to  what  you  hear,  and  to  what  you  think  too 
Christianity  really  does  teach,  with  respect  to  the  way  to 


YOVTti.  175 

be  saved.  Some  of  yon  feel  internal  disgnst  and  contempt 
for  the  h3^pocrisy  and  the  cant,  which  yon  sometimes  see 
associated  Avith  the  profession  of  religion.  You  feel  dis- 
gust and  contempt  for  the  low  tastes  and  the  vulgarity, 
and  much  that  is  oifensive,  in  some  personal  specimens  of 
common  Christianity.  And  others  of  you  are  conscious, 
that  without  thoughts  of  this  sort,  there  is  constantly 
operating  upon  you  the  love  of  some  sin,  the  power  of 
some  habit,  some  evil  thing,  in  practice  and  in  fact,  which 
is  constantly  at  your  side ;  and  though  you  have  your 
deej)  stirrings  of  mind,  and  your  searchings  of  heart,  and 
your  impressions  and  convictions  and  resolutions  and  pur- 
poses, there  is  always,  just  in  connection  with  these,  the 
tempter  at  your  side,  in  the  form  of  the  evil  habit,  that 
keeps  you  bound  to  your  savory  and  darling  sin.  And 
a  thousand  other  things  I  might  mention,  of  different 
forms  of  thought  and  feeling,  which  are  operating  on 
young  men,  and  keeping  them  Avhere  they  are, — those  who 
are  standing  here  in  all  their  variety  of  character  (morally 
speaking),  good,  bad  and  indifferent,  but,  from  some 
reason  or  other,  in  their  irreligiousness,  not  having  in 
them  Divine  faith,  religious  affection,  devotedness  to 
Christ. 

^'  What  will  ye  do  in  the  end  ?  "  The  question  is  to 
you,  my  friends  :  "  What  will  jq  do  in  the  end  ?  "  You 
know,  the  end  will  come.  Now  just  in  tAvo  or  three 
Avords  let  me  refer  to  the  application  of  the  question  to 
you. 

We  will  take  "  Hyq  end"  to  be  sickness  and  death  : 
"what  will  ye  do  in  the  end  ?  " — when,  be  sure  of  this, 
some  of  you  Avill  find  out  the  utter  insufficiency  of  these 
things  as  reasons  of  your  neglect,  and  find  tliem  to  have 
been  the  most  superficial  of  excuses.  What  !  cannot  you 
separate  between  religion  and  its  adjuncts  and  its  acci- 
dents ?     What  !  you,  ^\\i\\  your  discrimination  and  your 


11Q  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

intellect^ — you,  witli  your  intellectual  improvement  and 
taste  and  perspicacity,— could  not  you  distinguish  between 
religion  and  the  weakness  or  worthlessness  of  those  that 
might  degrade  or  dishonor  it  ?  and  could  you  pretend  to 
be  entangled  by  a  sophistry  like  that  ?  Were  difficulties 
to  deter  you  ?  Might  it  not  have  turned  out,  that  the 
very  existence  of  these  difficulties  might  have  even  proved 
to  you  an  evidence  on  behalf  of  religion,  and  a  necessary 
process  of  moral  discipline,  through  which  you  must  pass  ? 
and  might  not  the  moral  test  implied  in  these  things, 
have  had  a  most  healthy  operation  upon  your  intellect  and 
faith  and  heart,  and  have  given  a  strength  and  firmness 
to  the  evidence  of  religion  itself. 

Others  of  you,  however  (in  the  language  of  Scripture) 
will  not  '^submit  yourselves  unto  the  righteousness  of 
God,"  but  like  the  Jew  of  old,  '^  being  ignorant  of  God's 
righteousness"  or  rejecting  God's  method  of  justifica- 
tion, ^'^and  going  about  to  establish  your  own,"  you 
^^  will  not  submit  unto  the  righteousness  of  God,"  then 
perhaps,  when  you  feel  yourselves  drawing  very  near  to 
the  Divine  presence  and  the  Divine  eye,  you  may  get 
such  a  view  of  your  nature,  of  the  emptiness  of  mere 
secular  virtue  and  of  the  insufficiency  of  what  you  have 
for  heaven,  that  you  may  see  how  the  redemption  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  mystery  of  the  cross,  and  the  ^'open 
fountain,"  and  "the  words  of  life,"  as  exhibited  in 
God's  method  of  mercy,  are  just  the  thing  which  your 
need  and  your  nature  require,  and  that  all  through  life 
you  have  been  putting  away  from  you  and  rejecting  the 
Divine  wisdom,  the  wisdom  of  God  in  this  evangelical 
mystery  of  mercy. 

Some  of  you  may  perhaps  find  theUy  that  the  course 
of  chosen  thought  and  feeling,  through  which  you  had 
been  going,  in  which  (so  to  speak)  you  had  been  educat- 
ing your  own   nature,  has  produced  a  state   of  mind, 


TOVTM.  f^l 

wliicli,  while  it  leads  you  to  be  alarmed  and  terrified,  may 
refuse  to  be  softened,  and  the  heart  to  become  again  like 
that  of  a  little  child.  My  brethren,  ^'  what  will  ye  do  in 
the  end,"  when  you  find  that  then  the  Gospel  and  you  can- 
not meet  as  strangers,  that  then  Jesus  Christ  and  you 
cannot  meet  as  if  you  had  never  met  before  ? — He  hav- 
ing been  knocking  at  your  heart  for  years,  and  continu- 
ally refused  ;  you  opening  that  door,  and  admitting  sin 
and  the  world  and  the  devil  to  come  past  Him,  and 
taking  them  to  your  fellowship  and  your  bosom,  and  He 
standing  and  knocking  and  asking  entrance  till  He  hath 
departed  ;  the  S^^irit  having  been  drawing  and  attract- 
ing, until  it  hath  departed  ;  the  Gospel  having  been 
presented  to  you  again  and  again,  until  all  its  aspects, 
and  all  the  force  of  argument  and  persuasion  come  upon 
you  as  familiar  things  ?  ^'  What  will  you  do  in  the 
end,"  when  you  find,  that  by  going  on  in  a  continual 
course  of  indecision  and  rejecting  religious  faith,  you 
haye  come  only  to  have  the  eye  of  your  intellect  opened 
to  behold  the  beauty  and  the  truth  of  these  things,  but 
to  have  your  heart  and  your  conscience  hardened  and 
withered  within  you  ?    I  believe  that  is  possible. 

But  mark,  ^^the  end  is  not  yet  ;"  after  you  have  got 
to  this,  *nhe  end  is  not  jet.-'  You  have  to  appear  be- 
fore God,  standing  in  the  full  blaze  of  the  light  from 
the  eternal  throne,  with  your  whole  history  discovered 
to  you — inscribed  upon  your  nature  ;  everything  written 
out  in  full  legible  characters,  and  you  standing  there 
before  the  throne  of  God  reading  it  as  in  a  moment. 
And  then,  when  there  is  urged  and  presented  upon  you, 
what  your  nature  was  with  its  capacities,  what  your 
position  was  with  its  responsibilities  and  obligations, 
what  your  privileges  were  with  3^our  Sabbaths,  and  ser- 
vices, and  friends,  and  conscience,  and  all  the  apparatus 
of  eternal  life,  and  all  this  enjoyed  in  vuin,  and  rejected, 
8* 


178  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

and  put  away  from  yon, — '^ loliat  will  ye  do^'  in  that 
final  '^end?"  Aye,  "can  thy  heart  endure,  and  thy 
hand  be  strong,  in  the  day  that  /  shall  deal  with  thee  ?" 
"Because  I  have  called  and  ye  refused,  I  have  stretched 
out  My  hand  and  no  man  regarded,  I  also  will  laugh  at 
your  calamity,  I  will  mock  when  your  fear  cometh." 
"All  they  that  hate  Me,"  (and  all  hate  Me,  who  will 
not  open  their  hearts  affectionately  and  earnestly  to  the 
reception  of  My  truth  and  love,) — "all  they  that  hate 
Me,  loYe  death." 

Ah  !  my  brethren,  if  you  once  fall  under  the  con- 
demnation of  God,  I  have  nothing  to  offer  to  you  in  the 
form  of  hope ;  7iotMng.  I  can  find  nothing  in  the 
Scriptures  to  favor  in  the  least  the  idea — not  the 
slightest  atom  of  evidence  or  indication  of  it — that  the 
sufferings  of  the  condemned,  the  sufferings  in  the  next 
st.'ite  have  anything  in  them  of  a  nature  that  is  dis- 
ciplinary or  purifying.  I  cannot  find  it ;  and  if  the 
Cliristian  redemption  be  what  it  is,  if  Christianity  be 
what  this  Book  most  distinctly  and  definitely  declares, 
what  it  plainly  and  clearly  articulates — the  gift  of  God's 
Son  as  the  sacrifice  for  the  guilt  of  the  world,  I  do  not 
see  how  it  can  be  possible  to  conceive,  that  there  can  be 
in  the  punishment,  that  must  follow  the  rejection  of 
that  great  and  unspeakable  gift,  a  virtue  and  a  purity, 
that  should,  after  all,  cleanse  the  soul  and  bring  it  to 
heaven.  God  knows  whether  it  be  right  to  alleviate,  by 
the  least  consideration,  the  agony  and  the  oppression, 
that  come  upon  the  heart  in  the  thought  of  eternal 
punishment ;  God  knows  whether  it  be  right  or  proper, 
to  admit  the  remotest  hope  of  relief  from  ultimate  or 
absolute  destruction  ;  but  sure  I  am  of  this,  that  what- 
ever we  may  not  know  with  respect  to  that  possibility, 
we  do  know  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  the  restoration 
of  the  condemned. 


YOUTH.  Its 

But  it  is  not  necessary,  dear  friends,  that  any  one  of 
you  should  come  to  this  end,  that  I  have  been  describ- 
ing. 

Nay,  observe,  that  if  Christianity  be  true,  there  is 
the  most  amazing  provision  for  securing  the  contrary. 
The  unspeakable  gift,  the  infinite  atonement,  the  open 
purifying  fountain,  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  the 
great  and  precious  promises  of  Divine  influence,  the 
beseeching — the  tender,  beseeching  entreaty  of  God,  the 
continued  urgency  of  the  Word  and  Spirit  in  the 
providence  of  God  for  years, — really,  brethren,  when  I 
think  of  all  these  things,  the  wonder  rather  seems  to 
me  that  any  should  be  lost,  than  that  there  should  be  a 
few  that  are  saved.  There  is  no  reluctancy  in  God  in 
relation  to  your  salvation.  No,  just  the  contrary;  a 
forwardness — desire — a  paternal  yearning  that  evei'y  one 
of  His  children  should  come  and  repose  upon  His  bosom, 
and  be  surrounded  and  filled  with  the  affluence  of  His 
love.  There  is  no  necessity  for  the  end  I  have  described 
being  yours. 

In  the  last  place,  we  sometimes,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  have  beautiful  instances  and  examples  of  another 
sort  of  end ;  and  it  becometh  us  to  let  our  eye  rest  on 
them, — to  let  our  ear  be  open  to  the  Divine  voices,  that 
may  come  to  us  from  the  pillow  of  a  dying  saint, — to 
open  our  hearts  to  the  reception  of  such  lessons.  And 
I  have  one  such  now  to  bring  before  you  to-night. 

The  young  man  to  whom  I  refer,  was  born  in  the 
north  of  Scotland.  He  was  blest  with  pious  parents, — 
though  I  observe  from  some  of  his  papers,  that  a  Scottish 
Sabbath  and  Scottish  Catechetical  Lectures  had  not  left 
upon  liis  mind  an  amiable  and  attractive  association  with 
religion  ;  but  his  heart  is  full,  I  observe  in  speaking  of  the 
piety  and  religious  anxiety  and  love  of  the  parents,  from 
whom  he  sprang.     Of  course  he  commenced  his  educa- 


180  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

tion  there.  He  had  a  remarkable  deliverance  from  death, 
wlien  he  was  about  eleven  years  of  age  ;  he  was  bathing, 
and  was  carried  out  into  the  sea,  and  lost  his  energy  and 
self-possession  in  swimming.  A  youth  struck  off  after 
him,  and  was  caught  by  a  wave ;  and  another  boy  sinking, 
he  of  course  turned  to  rescue  the  one  nearest  home.  By 
the  time  he  had  got  to  shore,  the  other  was  still  further 
gone  ;  but  some  sailors  in  a  boat  took  him  up.  He  was 
quite  insensible,  and  continued  in  that  state  for  about  five 
and  twenty  or  thirty  minutes,  apparently  dead ;  but  at 
last  means  were  successful  for  restoring  animation,  and 
giving  him  back  to  life,  that  he  might  see  the  light  of  the 
Sun  of  righteousness,  and  spiritually  ^^  walk  before  God 
in  the  land  of  the  living." 

His  education  was  followed  up  at  Edinburgh,  and  at 
Glasgow,  where  he  had  a  brother  attending  the  University; 
and  in  his  sixteenth  year  he  came  a  lad  to  this  great 
metropolis,  to  enter  into  a  most  respectable  wholesale 
house  of  bnsiuess.  And  now  the  trial  of  life,  of  course, 
began  w4th  him  in  earnest.  He  had  been  under  religi- 
ous circumstances,  and  in  contact  with  religious  persons, 
aud  the  eye  of  maternal  or  fraternal  affection  had  been 
constantly  on  his  side ;  and  now  he  was  brought  here. 
Here  he  was  not  altogether  removed  from  the  same  sort 
of  restraint  aud  influence,  for  it  v/as  his  happiness  to 
have  settled  in  the  metropolis  a  sister  and  brother-in- 
law,  intelligent  and  pious,  and  he  felt  of  course  trans- 
ferred to  them  something  like  the  guardianship  that  had 
been  exercised  before ;  still,  they  could  not  have  their 
eye  always  upon  him,  and  he  could  not  be  always  with 
them  ;  and  a  lad  of  his  age  and  in  his  circumstances,  one 
might  soon  come  to  find,  would  not  be  always  there 
either. 

He  felt  the  influence  (as  he  has  told  me,  and  as  I  have 
seen  in  looking  over  his  papers.) — he  felt  the  influence 


YOUTH.  181 

of  these  new  circumstances,  of  tlie  associations  into  which 
he  was  thrown,  of  the  comparative  freedom  which  he  en- 
joyed, and  of  the  possibility  of  having  his  own  way  and 
being  to  himself  his  own  law.  First  a  part  of  the  Sab- 
bath went,  and  then  sometimes  the  whole  of  it ;  and  to 
a  young  Scotch  lad,  with  his  Sabbath  associations  and 
ideas  of  Sabbath  obligation  and  Sabbath  sanctity,  to  be- 
gin to  break  into  fragments  the  day  of  God,  and  to  abuse 
it,  and  to  trample  the  fragments  under  foot,  and  to  float 
away  first  upon  a  piece,  and  then  to  give  the  whole  to 
some  rural  excursion,  or  to  give  some  pleasure  which  could 
not  be  innocent  nor  thought  to  be  innocent,  was  the 
beginning  of  the  breaking  down  of  some  of  those  fences 
that  were  about  his  virtue  and  about  his  heart. 

He  frequented  too,  in  a  little  time,  public  places  of 
amusement.  And  though  he  was  mercifully  saved,  and 
by  the  grace  of  God  drawn  out,  thus  being  kept  and  pre- 
served from  the  consequences,  to  which  that  step  might 
lead,  he  was  not  drawn  out  without  some  scars  u^^on  the 
inner  man,  through  the  effect  that  was  left  upon  the 
state  of  his  imagination  and  his  heart. 

What  a  mysterious — magical.  Divine  thing,  is  a 
mother's  love  !  How  it  nestles  about  the  heart,  and  goes 
with  the  man,  and  speaks  to  him  pure  words,  and  is  like 
a  guardian  angel  !  This  young  man  could  never  take 
any  money  that  came  to  him  from  bis  mother,  and  spend 
tliat  upon  a  Sunday  excursion  or  a  treat  to  a  theatre.  It 
was  a  sacred  thing  to  him  ;  it  had  the  impression  and 
the  inscription  of  his  mother's  image,  his  mother's  purity 
his  mother's  piety,  and  his  mother's  love  And  these 
things  that  he  felt  to  be  questionable,  or  sinful,  were  al- 
ways to  be  provided  for  by  money  that  came  to  him  from 
other  hands.  Oh  !  there  is  the  poetry  of  the  heart,  tiie 
poetry  of  our  home  and  domestic  affections,  the  poetry  of 
the  religion  of  the  hearth  and  the  altar,  about  that  little 


183  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

incident ;  and  it  strikes  me  as  being  perfectly  beautiful. 
You  tliat  are  mothers,  think  of  this  ;  and  you  young  men, 
that  have  mothers  far  away,  with  hearts  full  of  anxiety, 
think  of  their  love,  and  let  the  recollection  of  their  love 
be  as  your  guardian  angel,  to  watch  over  you  and  keep 
you  in  the  way. 

I  find,  in  looking  over  his  papers,  that  in  attending 
worship  he  very  frequently  had  his  own  cliaracter  dis- 
tinctly placed  before  him  ;  that  the  preacher  very  often 
arraigned,  convicted,  condemned,  and  he  felt  the  exhibi- 
tion to  be  Uimself ;  that  he  took  it  to  his  heart,  he  went 
home  trembling  under  its  impression,  he  began  under  it 
to  purpose  and  to  pray — and  to  sin  again,  to  sin  again ! 

The  heart,  you  see,  was  not  decidedly  given  up  to 
God,  but  liable  to  these  impressions  and  agitations  ;  and 
so  he  was  finding  excuses,  and  sometimes  tried  to  satisfy 
himself  with  a  purpose  and  a  prayer, — and  then  it  was 
forgotten.  Sometimes  the  idea  of  destijiy  occurred  to 
him  :  God's  perfect  omniscience — purpose — sovereignty. 
I  dare  say,  you  young  men  know  something  about  this. 
'  Well,  God  knows  distinctly  and  accurately  the  end.  He 
knows  what  is  to  be  and  what  is  purposed,  what  can  I  do? 
Whatever  I  do,  that  end  must  be  reached  ;  if  I  am  to  be 
saved,  I  am, — if  I  shall  be,  I  shall  be.'  And  so  he  kept 
tampering  witli  his  moral  nature, — tampering  with  every 
pure,  healthy  moral  instinct  within  him  ;  rising  up  un- 
der the  consciousness  of  responsibility  and  moral  power, 
and  then  dozing  and  stupefying  the  conscience  by  this 
idea  of  destiny. 

I  am  giving  you  the  outlines  of  the  history  of  a  young 
man's  heart ;  and  "  as  face  answereth  to  face,  so  does  the 
heart  of  man  to  man  ; "  and  the  history  of  this  heart  may, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  have  its  influence  on  some  of 
yours. 

About  this  time  there  was  a  new  Chapel  opened  in 


YOUTH.  183 

the  York  Road  ;  and  his  sister  thinking  of  him,  and 
looking  at  him  as  amiaWe  and  virtuous,  but  without 
decision  in  religion,  put  down  his  name  as  a  teacher  for 
the  Sunday  School,  and  told  him  so.  And  his  heart,  he 
says,  revolted  within  him.  For  he  was  beginning  to 
love  his  sins  and  his  pleasures  and  his  amusements,  and 
those  things  on  which  he  was  thus  beginning  to  enter ; 
he  did  not  want  to  be  religious  :  and  he  did  not  cer- 
tainly wish  to  appear  more  religious  than  he  was.  His 
heart  revolted  at  both  these  things ;  and  he  went  that 
night  with  his  relatives  to  that  place  of  worship,  with  his 
heart  thus  troubled  and  disturbed,  this  enmity  rising  up 
against  the  work  to  which  he  was  committed,  for  which 
he  had  no  taste,  and  which  he  did  not  wish  to  enter 
upon,  for  he  did  not  wish  to  teach  that  which  he  felt 
that  he  did  not  love. 

The  preacher  was  a  young  man,  of  great  seriousness 
and  of  great  promise.  He  preached  from  the  text — 
*' And  they  all  began  to  make  excuse;"  and  I  suppose, 
he  took  up  the  different  sorts  of  excuses  that  men  might 
feel  for  neglecting  God's  service.  He  says,  no  particular 
part  of  the  sermon,  but  the  whole  generally  produced  a 
deep  and  indescribable  impression  upon  his  conscience 
and  heart.  All  the  way  home  he  kept  conversing  with 
himself,  and  casting  in  his  own  heart,  and  asking  him- 
self ivhy  he  should  wish  to  be  excused  :  why  he  should 
wish  to  be  excused  from  that  service,  to  which  his  Father 
invited  him,  and  which  they  who  had  entered  it,  he 
well  knew,  declared  to  be  happiness  and  freedom.  And 
he  prayed  for  strength  ;  and  his  heart  gave  birth,  under 
God,  to  a  resolute  purpose,  and  he  determined  he  would 
no  longer  wish  to  be  excused.  He  went  home  with  that 
determination,  and  he  acted  upon  it  instantly.  He  be- 
gan immediately  to  read  the  Scriptures  ;  and  taking  up 
the  Urst  book  upon  which  he  laid  his  hand  (which  he 


184  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

considered  to  be  a  guidance  of  God's  providence),  Mr. 
James's  Anxious  Enquirer,  and  he  read  the  introductory 
observations,  giving  direction  as  to  the  way  inv^hich  the 
author  wishes  it  to  be  read — with  earnest  prayer  and  per- 
sonal application.  He  began  that  night,  and  read  on  ; 
and  that  night  he  bowed  his  knee  to  God  and  the  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  pouring  into  His  ear  the  utter- 
ance of  a  broken  heart  and  a  returning  and  repenting 
child.  Day  after  day  he  went  on  reading  this  book,  and 
receiving  light  from  it,  and  understanding  his  own  heart, 
until  he  felt  that  ho  really,  completely,  entirely,  with 
perfect  sincerity  and  with  perfect  honesty  of  heart  and 
intention,  ''  received  the  atonement,"  rested  upon  it,  and 
felt  his  heart  filled  full  of  love  to  God — filled  full  of  the 
thought  of  the  Divine  love  to  him  and  of  his  love  to 
God  back  again — and  devoted  himself  to  God's  service. 
And  never  from  that  moment,  as  he  told  me,  did  he  feel 
the  least  desire  after  any  of  his  sinful  amusements,  or 
reluctance  to  give  them  up ;  never  from  that  moment, 
had  he  a  single  doubt  or  shadow  upon  his  heart,  of  his 
enjoyment  of  the  Divine  mercy,  and  his  calm  repose  in 
his  Father's  love. 

I  must  pass  briefly  over  other  matters.  His  health 
declined  ;  and  he  left  business.  As  his  healtJi  returned, 
before  entering  on  another  situation,  he  spent  some  time 
with  his  brother,  a  minister  of  a  congregational  Baptist 
Church  ;  he  spent  some  time  there  for  his  health,  and 
his  health  was  restored.  From  the  influences  under 
which  he  was  thrown,  and  the  feelings  naturally  spring- 
ing up  in  his  young  heart,  he  desired  to  give  himself  to 
the  ministry.  Under  a  slight  change  of  sentiment,  he 
received  baptism  by  immersion  ;  and  he  was  admitted 
into  Stepney  College,  and  entered  upon  his  studies  with 
great  interest  and  prospect  of  success.  A  foundation  of 
tarly  classical  attainments  had  been  laid,  previously  to 


lOTJTH.  185 

his  entering  into  business  ;  lie  had  good  talents  ;  and  he 
was  devoted  conscientiously  to  the  improvement  of  the 
advantages  he  possessed.  A  few  times  he  was  permitted 
to  preach.  His  person  was  prepossessing,  his  elocution 
distinct  and  impressive,  his  manner  grave.  The  subjects 
on  which  his  deep  seriousness  led  him  to  dilate,  were  al- 
ways important  ;  and  his  observations  and  appeals  to  the 
heart  and  conscience,  very  pungent.  So  that  there  was 
about  him,  in  his  circumstances  and  his  prospects,  every 
thing  to  make  him  the  object  of  deep  interest  to  his 
friends — a  flower  of  sweet  fragrance  rising  up  into  mature 
perfection ;  and  every  thing  to  himself  to  make  life 
pleasant  and  desirable,  with  the  prospect  before  him  of 
usefulness  and  honor — the  thing  for  which  he  had 
wished  to  live. 

But  all  was  to  pass  away.  His  illness  returned. 
After  montbs,  in  which  his  recovery  was  but  questionable, 
though  there  was  hope  lying  at  the  bottom  of  his  super- 
ficial appearances  of  disease,  at  last  it  was  announced  to 
him  that  he  must  die.  And  he  returned  from  Devon- 
shire to  die. 

He  wrote  or  dictated  many  letters  to  his  companions, 
to  some  that  were  still  in  the  house  of  business  where  he 
had  been,  and  to  others  of  his  aquaintance  over  the 
country,  every  one  of  them  breathing  the  most  perfect 
approval  of  the  Divine  will.  No  reluctance  to  die  ;  the 
fullness  of  hope ;  Divine  satisfaction  in  his  heart,  sus- 
tained by  the  power  of  Divine  truth. 

But  I  will  read  you  now  (which  will  be  better  than 
my  speaking),  an  account  of  his  last  days  and  hours,  which 
W)<s  drawn  up  at  my  request  and  for  my  use  by  my  friend, 
liis  brother-in-law,  that  it  might  give  a  tinge  and  color 
to  my  own  thoughts  and  recollections  and  phraseology. 
\\(^  often  said,  he  did  not  understand  Christians  when 
they  spoke  of  'submitting  to  the  will  of  Godj'  the  phrase 


186  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

seemed  to  him  to  indicate  doubt  or  distrust — at  best  a 
sort  of  yielding  to  hard  necessity.  The  phrase  '  myste- 
rious provicle7ice,^  especially  when  applied  to  early  re- 
movals like  his  own,  seemed  to  him  equally  objectionable; 
it  seemed  to  him  by  no  means  to  express  warm  aifectionate 
confidence. 

"  His  happy  acquiescence  in  the  Divine  will  evidently 
sprung  from  the  affectionate  views,  which  he  always  took 
of  the  character  of  God.  He  eminently  loved  God. 
*  God  is  love ' — Avas  ever  on  his  lips. 

"  His  joy  was  calm,  deep  and  unruffled.  It  flowed 
like  a  river.  During  an  illness  of  ten  months,  it  was 
never  disturbed ;  an  impatient  word  never  escaped  his 
lij)s.     His  decay  was  gradual,  and  as  serene  as  sunset. 

"  He  knew  of  no  morality  or  spirituality,  intended 
only  for  a  sick  bed.  Disease  found  him  precisely  what 
he  had  been  in  health.  Had  he  been  restored  by 
miracle,  his  habitual  state  of  mind  would  have  been  as 
appropriate  to  activity  and  health,  as  it  was  to  solitude 
and  weakness.  The  freshness  and  buoyancy  of  his 
spirit  never  forsook  him ;  his  sound  and  vigorous  com- 
mon sense  indicated  a  healthy  mind  to  the  very  last. 

^*  During  the  last  two  or  three  weeks,  his  weakness 
was  very  great,  and  his  sufferings  w^ere  consequently 
much  increased  ;  but  love  for  God  and  love  for  every 
body  about  him  drew  the  sting  out  of  all.  His  affection 
seemed  exhaustless.  The  streams  of  love  deepened  and 
widened  as  they  flowed.  He  now  longed  to  depart. 
^Perfect  love'  had  ^  cast  out  fear:'  ^patience'  seemed 
to  have  had  Mier  perfect  work  j'  he  waited  anxiously  for 
the  glad  summons. 

"About  half-past  eight  upon  Thursday  evening, 
December  30  (the  last  day  but  one  of  the  last  year),  he  be- 
gan to  die.  His  pain  was  very  great  ;  at  times,  he  said, 
it  was  agony  ;  yet  inward  spiritual  joy  still   triumphed. 


YOUTH.  187 

Again  and  again  was  the  earnest  prayer  heard — ^  Conic, 
Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly,  come  quickly;'  but  as  regu- 
larly was  it  followed  by  the  firm  proviso — '  Yet  not  as  I 
will,  but  as  Thou  wilt.' 

^^ About  half-past  ten  he  was  evidently  sinking;  but 
he  was  still  able  gently  to  wave  his  hand,  bidding  those 
around  him  Farewell ;  and  he  added  with  a  smile — 
*  Death !  where  is  thy  sting  ?  grave  !  where  is  thy 
victory  ?'  After  a  little  time  he  spoke  once  more,  to  beg 
all  about  him  would  be  perfectly  still :  *  Don't  speak, 
don't  speak/  he  feebly  uttered,  *  I  am  enjoying  deep  and 
blessed  communion  with  God.'  For  above  half  an  hour 
perfect  silence  was  maintained,  during  which  he  seemed 
wrapt  in  meditation,  a  smile  frequently  playing  about 
his  face.  About  the  end  of  that  time,  his  head  gradu- 
ally fell  back,  his  eye  brightened,  and  as  if  his  ear 
caught  the  harmonies  of  the  invisible  world,  he  ex- 
claimed, in  a  calm  and  loud  voice,  expressive  of  admira- 
tion—  'Beautiful!  beautiful!'  A  few  moments  more, 
and  then  as  if  the  veil  had  been  withdrawn,  which  hides 
from  mortal  eye  the  radiancy  of  the  upper  world,  he 
added — '  Glory  1  glory !'  And  with  these  words  dying 
on  his  lips,  he  fell  back  upon  his  pillow,  and  his  purified 
and  happy  spirit  took  its  flight  to  heaven." 

This  is  a  description  of  fact.  It  is  A  fact,  whether 
Christianity  be  true  or  not.  It  was  the  Gospel,  that 
sustained  and  blessed  him.  And  we  ask  for  any  system 
to  come  forward — any  system  of  belief  or  any  system  of 
no  belief — and  let  us  see  any  thing  like  that  in  their 
triumplis  and  in  their  results. 

"Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous  ;  and  let  my 
last  end  be  like  his  !" 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES, 


MIDDLE    AGE. 


THE  COMFORTmG  ANNOUNCEMENT. 

WILLIAM  ORMISTOK,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

"  Blessed  are  tlie  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord." — Rev.  xiv  :  13. 
TT  is  a  solemnizing  thought  that  the  number  of  the 
^  departed  far  exceeds  that  of  the  living  ; — that,  of  the 
children  of  men  many  more  rest  quietly  beneath  the  sod, 
than  restlessly  tread  upon  it.  Many  among  us  have  more 
dear  ones  in  the  other  land  than  here,  and  we  are  hasten- 
ing to  join  them.  Death  reigns,  homes  are  curtained, 
hearts  are  saddened  and  loved  ones  are  missed  every  day. 
Our  only  solace  is  to  be  found  in  the  Gospel  of  the  Resur- 
rection. It  alone  illumines  the  grave — sustains  the 
dying — ^and  comforts  the  bereaved. 

The  text  is  a  significant  epitaph ;  breathing  consola- 
tion and  inspiring  hopes — a  noUe  requiem,  joyous, 
triumphant,  expectant ; — a  light  from  the  beyond  whose 
radiance  rests  on  the  dark  valley,  and  gilds  even  the 
coffin. 

Notice  1st.    The  character  defined  who  die  in  the 
Lord — asleep  in  Jesus,  not  all  the  dead  are  blessed^  and 
some  we  must  mourn  in  hopeless  sorrow. 
[188] 


MlPDlfiJ    AGE.  189 

In  the  Lord.     In  Christ,  a  peculiar  expression  for  a 

unique  relationship — a  human  soul  may  sustain  three 
different  relations  to  Christ,  of  Christ,  in  Christ,  and  with 
Christ,  a  state  of  nature — of  grace — and  of  glory.  The 
three  successively  constitute  the  biography  of  all  the 
ransomed  above.  It  implies  that  a  man  is  a  true  Chris- 
tian. 

1.  Faith  in  the  person  and  work  of  Christ. 

2.  Sanctified  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 

3.  Conformed  to  the  image  of  Christ. 
2d.  The  blessedness  pronounced. 

1.  Blessed,  for  they  still  live  unto  God.  They  are 
with  Christ. 

2.  JBlessedf  for  they  rest  from  anxious  care  and  cease- 
less conflict — from  temptation  and  sin — from  the  com- 
panionship and  assaults  of  evil. 

3d.  Blessed,  for  they  enter  into  peace  and  repose  ;  into 
perfect  holiness  and  absolute  security  ;  into  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect. 

4th.  Blessed,  for  their  works  follow  them — seed  sown 
in  tears,  will  then  prove  sheaves  in  joy. 

Lessons  {a)  Consolation  for  the  bereaved. 
{h)  Comfort  for  the  dying. 
{c)  Incentive  for  the  living. 
{d)  Warning  for  the  Christless. 
Let  every  tolling  bell,   every  nodding  hearse,  everj 
open  grave,  be  a  warning,  an   admonition,   a  message 
from  God  to  thee.     If  for  us  to  live  is  Christ,  then  to  die 
is  gain,  and  we  will  be  blessed  in  our  death. 


190  MEMORIAL     TRtBtJTES, 


AWAITING  COEONATION. 

WILLIAM    SPRAGUE,   D.D. 
"i  am  noiD  readu  to  he  offered,"  etc. — 3  Tim.  iv:  6,  7,  8. 
lyrOTHING-  conld  be  more  in  keeping  with  the  char- 
ucter   and  circumstances   of   Paul    than   this  tri- 
umphant language. 

I.  Paul  had  nearly  reached  the  connecting  point  be- 
tween earth  and  heaven.  He  was  "  Paul  the  aged." 
His  martyrdom  had  been  determined  on — the  time  was 
near.  He  speaks  of  his  "  course  "  as  actually  *'  finished." 
The  next  step  will  be  upon  the  dark  boundary.  Not  to 
be  pitied  but  congratulated. 

II.  Paul's  retrospect  and  his  reflections  thereon.  "A 
good  fight."  It  was  a  good  cause — the  cause  of  God — 
of  human  happiness — for  which  the  Eedeemer  died — 
the  noblest  cause  to  which  the  heart  of  man  or  angel  ever 
beat.  To  this  cause  he  had  brought  a  full  measure  of 
zeal  and  fortitude.  He  strove  with  all  the  vigor  and 
earnestness  he  could  command — enemies  had  been  over- 
come and  all  vigilance  and  courage  had  to  be  put  in  re- 
quisition. 

*^Kept  the  faith," — had  received  the  Gospel  as  a 
sacred  deposit,  had  guarded  it,  defended  it,  kept  it  faith- 
fully. Amidst  all  the  varying  forms  of  doubt  and  un- 
belief he  had  to  encounter  he  stood  firm  as  a  rock  in 
defence  of  truth.  He  persevered  till  he  had  ^^ finished 
his  course."  Wore  his  armor  and  used  it  to  the  last. 
Kept  the  faith  to  the  last  and  is  now  girding  himself  for 
immortality, 

III.  He  is  looking  forward  to  his  reward.  In  review 
conscience  bears  witness  to  his  fidelity.  Now  his  eye  is 
on  the  future  and  its  glories  rise  before  him — *Sa  crown," 


Middle  age.  191 

awaiting  him — emblem  of  riches,  dignity,  authority, — a 
measure  of  glory  inconceivable,  ^' crown  of  righteous- 
ness"— purchased  by  the  righteousness  of  the  Redeemer 
— this  illustrates  its  security  and  value.  It  is  also  a  pub- 
lic testimony,  on  the  part  of  God,  in  honor  of  his  saints. 
It  is  bestowed  also  by  a  righteous  Judge.  The  reward 
is  unimpeached  and  unimpeachable. 

This  crown  is  'Maid  up  against  the  day  of  Christ's 
appearing."  This  imports  that  it  is  secure  to  the  Chris- 
tian, as  God's  covenant  faithfulness,  and  the  Mediator's 
grace  and  power  can  make.  Other  riches  may  pass  away  ; 
this  is  always  in  safe-keeping,  and  will  bo  bestowed  on 
-'the  day  of  Christ."  The  full  measure  of  glory  will 
then  be  awarded.  Blessed  is  the  dying  Christian  who 
looks  behind  him  and  sees  the  wiiderness  passed  over; 
wlio  looks  before  him  and  is  entranced  with  visions  of  im- 
mortality. 


PASSING  THROUGH  THE  VALLEY. 

J.  R.  MACDUFF,  D.D. 
Tea,  though  1  pass  through  tlie  valley y  &c. — Ps.  xxiii :  4. 
'T^HERE  is  no  more  familiar  verse  in  scripture  than 
this.  No  Bible  figure  has  made  a  more  lasting  and 
indelible  impression.  We  do  not  know  what  spot  sug- 
gested to  David  the  world-wide  emblem.  How  /aany 
tears  has  this  one  verse  dried.  How  many  eyes  nave 
gazed  on  tliis  valley,  radiant  with  His  presence  and  eom- 
l)anionship.  AVe  must  soon  tread  it.  Who  shall  be  our 
guide  ?     Every  hour  3000  pilgrims  enter  it. 

I.  The  valley.  Death  is  a  gloomy  experience,  even 
to  the  believer.  Death,  as  the  wages  of  sin,  even  to  the 
Christian,  is  an  enemy.  It  is  a  solemn  thing.  But 
while  the  believer,  as  a  child  of  our  common  nature,  in- 


19'^  MEMORtAL     TRimTES. 

stinctively  recoils  from  death,  as  a  child  of  Grod  he  can 
say,  ^^T  will  fear  no  evil."  It  is  only  to  him  the 
*'  shadow "  of  death.  The  substance  is  taken  away. 
The  king  of  terrors  is  a  vanquished  enemy.  Christ  by 
dying  took  the  sting  from  death.  In  prophecy  he  ex- 
claimed, *^I  will  redeem  thee,  &c."  He  has  flooded  the 
valley  with  light.  ''Abolished  death" — the  death  of 
the  body  is  of  little  account. 

II.  The  Presence.  "  Thou."  Another  element  of 
support  in  passing  through  the  valley.  The  curse  is 
removed,  and  a  real  companionship  enjoyed.  Thousands 
have  testified  as  they  entered,  to  the  felt  nearness  of  the 
Saviour.  It  is  a  Peniel.  Secure  His  presence  in  the 
wilderness  and  He  will  be  with  you  in  Jordan.  ''Thou 
art  with  me"  now,  and  will  be  then  "  Thou"  '^  He  that 
goeth  before"  his  sheep.  He  has  trodden  the  valley 
before  them — He  went  "alone" — sanctified  the  valley 
— left  in  it  the  print  of  his  steps  and  now  from  the 
throne  says,  "  Fear  not !  I  am  He  that  liveth  and  was 
dead !" 

III.  The  two-fold  support.  Eastern  shepherds  have 
two  staves,  one  for  counting  the  sheep,  the  other,  with  a 
crook  for  rescuing,  &c.,  them.  These  denote  the  rod 
of  Faith,  and  the  staff  of  Promises.  Faith  smites  the 
typical  Jordan  in  this  valley  and  the  believer  passes 
over.  The  staff  enables  us  to  find  sure  footing  and  in 
safety  to  reach  the  opposite  bank.  God's  promises  en- 
sure safety.  These  two  props  comfort  David  in  life 
and  will  in  death.  "  They  comfort  me."  They  did  not 
fail  him.  Hear  his  last  words.  "He  hath  made  with 
me,  &c."     God  is  still  faithful,  who  has  promised. 

Ponder  your  'personal  interest  in  this  subject.  The 
infant,  child,  youth,  &c. 

Connect  the  valley  tvith  heaven  to  tvhich  it  leads.  It 
is  "a  door  of  hope."     Death,  and  what  is  after  death. 


MIDDLE    AGE.  W6 


FAITHFULNESS  AND  ITS  REWAED. 

CHARLES   HODGE,  D.D. 
Wdl  done  good  and  faithful  servant,  &c. — ^Matt.  xxv  :  21. 
T     The  person  described. 

•  1.  The  word  good  is  used  in  manifold  senses,  but 
they  all  fall  under  two  heads — that  is  good  which  is 
what  God  designed  it  to  be,  having  the  qualities  and 
attributes  which  fit  it  for  its  appointed  sphere,  but  good, 
means  also  suitable,  agreeable,  useful  or  beneficent — thus 
we  say  a  good  tree,  &c.  That  is  good  which  does  good. 
In  the  absolute  sense  of  the  word,  God  only  is  good — 
good  in  Himself,  ;ind  the  source  of  all  good  in  others. 
A  man  is  good  who  is  measurably  in  himself  what  he 
ought  to  be  and  who  does  good  to  others.  He  has  not 
self  for  his  object,  but  sacrifices  self  for  the  good  of  liis 
fellow  men.  Some  are  good,  God  ward  rather  than  man- 
ward.  They  are  not  centres  whence  good  radiates. 
Such  men  may  be  saved,  but  as  by  fire. 

2.  Faithful.  This  is  a  word  of  wide  import.  He  is 
faithful  who  exercises  faith,  is  worthy  of  faith,  who 
manifests  fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  duty.  Faithful  to 
the  doctrines  of  God's  word — sincerely  believing  them, 
openly  professing  and  proclaiming  them — faithful  to 
principles,  ready  to  declare  them,  never  forsaking  them 
for  any  consideration  of  expediency.  Faithful  to  obli- 
gations— in  the  cultivation  of  talents,  employment  of 
time,  in  the  avoidance  of  all  unnecessary  expenses,  and 
in  the  dispensing  of  charities. 

3.  Servant.  This  was  the  favorite  designation  of  the 
apostles.  Paul  called  himself  habitually  the  servant  of 
Jesus  Christ.  He  desired  to  be  so  regarded,  and  to  live 
in  accordance  with  the  relation  indicated  by  the  word  in 


194  MEMOlilAL     TRIBUTES. 

its  strongest  sense.  He  was  the  servant  of  Christ,  be- 
cause he  was  his  property — the  purchase  of  his  blood. 
The  service  of  Christ  comprehended  everything — the 
homage  of  the  understanding,  the  subjection  of  the 
conscience,  the  devotion  of  the  heart,  and  the  conduct 
of  the  life. 

II.  The  reward.  The  souls  of  believers  at  their 
death  enter  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord.  Presence  with 
the  Lord  is  the  believer's  heaven. 

1.  It  is  the  joy  wJiich  the  Lord  Himself  possesses. 
Christ  and  His  people  are  one.  This  union  is  threefold, 
a  federal  union,  a  vital  union  and  a  voluntary  conscious 
union  by  faith.  Christ's  death  is  their  death,  &c.  They 
reign  with  Him,  are  glorified  together. 

2.  It  is  the  joy  of  victory.  Victory  over  death,  hell, 
the  grave.  It  is  a  victory  the  glorious  consequences  of 
which  are  to  fill  immensity  and  eternity. 

3.  It  is  the  joy  of  perfection.  This  is  the  completion 
of  the  work  of  redemption  for  his  people.  The  restor- 
ation of  God's  image  in  them  is  complete.  The  perfec- 
tion of  their  whole  nature — in  perfect  knowledge,  in 
perfect  holiness,  a  perfection  in  reconciliation  and  com- 
munion with  God.  The  soul  is  filled  with  his  fullness. 
It  is  filled  with  God.  '^It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we 
shall  be,  &c." 

II.  It  is  a  joy  of  dominion.  Christ  has  been  given 
a  name  which  is  above  every  name.  He  is  exalted  above 
all  principalities,  &c.  Of  His  dominion  there  is  neither 
limit  nor  end.  In  this  dominion  His  people  share,  and 
in  the  joy  of  this  sovereignty.  What  this  means  we  do 
not  fully  know.  But  it  includes  more  than  tongue  can 
tell  or  heart  conceive, — glory,  honor,  immortality.  It 
implies  the  constant  beneficent  and  beatifying  exercise 
of  all  our  powers  in  the  promotion  of  the  highest  glory 
of  our  Redeemer  and  the  highest  good  of  His  Kingdom. 


MIDDLE    AGE.  195 


CBOSSING  THE  EIVER. 

T.   DE  WITT  TALMAGE,  D.D. 

And  the  pi'iests  that  hare  i/ie  ark  of  the  coxienarit  of  the  Lord  stood 
firm  on  dry  ground  in  the  midst  of  Jordan. — Joshua  iii:  17. 

TT/^ASHmGTON  crossed  the  Delaware  by  boat; 
^  *  Xerxes,  the  Hellespont  by  an  extemporized  bridge  : 
and  the  Israelites  the  Red  Sea  by  its  being  divided,  in 
which  division  the  Egyptians  were  drowned.  This 
crossing  differs  from  all  others,  and  was  without  the  loss 
of  life.  The  waters  piled  themselves  up  in  a  heap  at  the 
touch  of  the  priest's  feet.     Learn  : 

I.  Obstacles  touched  vanish.  Obstacles  that  may  be 
tremendous  in  the  distance,  depart  when  we  advance 
upon  and  touch  them  with  courage.  As  in  life,  so  at  its 
close.  Many  are  now  afraid  of  the  Jordan  of  death. 
But  when  you  come  to  it,  when  your  time  has  come  to 
cross  it,  it  will  disappear.  Christ  your  Priest  with 
bruised  feet  will  go  ahead  of  you.  His  feet  touching  the 
waters  will  cause  them  to  roll  away,  and  you  will  go 
through  dry  shod. 

II.  The  completeness  of  everything  that  God  does. 
The  Jordan  when  it  stopped  flowing  did  not  flood  its 
banks.  It  did  not  leave  mud  and  slime  in  its  bed — it  is 
dry.  God  gives  us  everything  complete,  a  complete  uni- 
verse, a  complete  Bible,  a  complete  Saviour,  a  complete 
Jordan ic  passage. 

III.  Between  us  and  everything  bright,  beautiful  and 
useful,  there  is  a  river  of  difficulty  that  we  must  cross. 
The  grapes  of  Eschol  and  the  goodly  land  were  beyond 
Jordan — these  things  are  always  on  the  other  side.  We 
must  cross  to  get  them.  That  which  costs  nothing  is 
worth  nothing.  We  must  struggle  for  what  is  valuable. 
Stewart,  Vanderbilt,  Franklin,  Walter  Scott,  Mansfield, 


1 96  MEMORIAL     TRIE  UTE8. 

all  found  it  so.  Every  convert  to  Jesus  finds  it  so,  and 
after  every  other  d  ifficulty  has  been  surmounted,  here  is  the 
river  of  death.  But  the  Great  High  Priest  goes  before, 
the  water  parts,  and  as  the  Christian  goes  down  into  the 
bed  of  the  stream  he  sings,  '^  Oh  Death,  where  is  thy 
sting,  &c." 

The  families  of  the  Israelites  passed  over  altogether. 
Wliat  congratulations  must  have  been  theirs.  But  we 
must  pass  over  one  by  one.  But  while  one  foot  is  in  the 
river  the  other  will  be  in  Heaven.  It  is  not  a  breaking 
down,  but  a  lifting  up. 

Wliat  comfort  in  this  subject  for  all  the  lereft.  They 
departed  are  not  submerged,  or  swamped,  but  crossed 
over — all  crossed  over.  Alive  on  the  other  shore — their 
respiration  easier — their  sight  keener,  their  aches  all  gone, 
and  an  impassible  barrier  between  them  and  all  human  and 
Satanic  pursuit — safe  in  Heaven.  Would  you  call  them 
back  ?  Has  their  struggle  not  been  long  enough  ?  Has 
their  journey  not  been  tedious  enough  ?  Have  they  not 
had  sufferings  enough  ?  Would  you  have  them  pass  the 
Jordan  three  times  ?  They  will  never  sin,  never  grow 
tired,  never  weep,  never  die  again. 


THE  SOLEMNITY  OF  DEATH. 

C.  F.  DEEMS,  D.D. 
No  man  dietJi  unto  himself. — Rom.  xiv:  7. 
T^VEEY  man  belongs  to  God.  This  fact  does  two 
things.  It  breaks  up  our  selfishness.  No  man  there- 
fore should  turn  every  stream  into  the  reservoir  of  his 
own  personal  interests,  and  wishes.  All  should  be  turned 
towards  God,  It  takes  away  our  solicitudes.  If  we  can- 
not accomplish  all   we   can  for  ourselves   we  are  doing 


MIDDLE    AGE.  197 

something  alway,s  for  another.  We  are  his.  Our  life  is 
safe,  and  death  is  secure.  This  gives  a  dignity  to  both 
living  and  dying.  Nothing  seems  so  lonely  as  death 
looked  at  from  this  side.  Nothing  so  cheering  looked  at 
from  the  other.  No  one  can  have  a  part  in  our  dying  : 
that  makes  it  lonely.  We  die  unto  the  Lord  :  that  makes 
it  cheering.  With  this  in  view  let  us  look  at  death  in 
several  aspects. 

I.  We  liave  no  choice  as  to  the  time.  We  cannot  en- 
gage to  serve  so  long  and  tlien  cease.  A  Christian  need 
not  be  concerned  about  the  time  of  his  death.  He  can- 
not make  an  appointment  with  death.  He  who  is  best 
prepared  to  die  is  he  who  best  prepared  to  live.  The 
responsibility  of  the  time  of  our  birth  did  not  devolve 
upon  us^  nor  will  the  responsibility  of  the  time  of  our 
death. 

II.  We  have  no  choice  as  to  the  place.  We  cannot 
prepare  a  soft  bed  for  our  hour  of  dying,  and  say,  I  will 
come  back  and  lay  me  here  and  close  my  life  amid  the 
scenes  that  have  been  dear  to  me.  The  place  made  may 
be  burnt  while  we  are  absent.  The  consideration  is  im- 
material to  the  Christian.  He  is  nowhere  to  which  duty 
has  not  called,  and  he  is  where  duty  has  called.  He  is  not 
to  consider  how  near  his  obedience  to  that  call  brings  him 
to  the  death  hour.  The  Lord  regulates  that.  Stand- 
ing in  his  place  at  all  times,  he  will  be  in  his  place  when 
the  stroke  of  death  shall  come.  It  may  be  in  Pisgah  or 
at  the  rich  man's  gate.  It  will  be  just  where  it  ought  to 
be.     WJiere  we  die,  "we  die  unto  the  Lord." 

III.  We  have  no  choice  as  to  the  manner.  Accord- 
ing to  a  man's  temperament  will  be  his  preferences  in 
all  things,  even  in  the  matter  of  dying,  as  to  its  place  and 
method.  There  seems  to  be  a  desire  that  death  be  not 
instant.  Is  it  a  good  desire  ?  To  a  Christian  in  full 
play,  instant  death  is  the  lightning   flash  that  throws 


198  MEMOIilAL     TRIBUTES. 

open  the  gates  of  immortality  and  frees  from  the  pains 
and  aches  of  wearisome  days  and  nights.  It  is  not  for 
us  to  dwell  on  this.  God  may  accomplish  more  by  the 
death-bed  of  Elisha  than  by  the  translation  of  Elijah. 

But  the  choice,  thank  God,  is  not  luith  us,  '^  whether  we 
live,"  etc.  The  moment  the  life  of  the  Christian  closes, 
gives  his  earthly  existence  greatest  capability  of  benefit- 
ing the  race  and  extending  the  knowledge  of  Jesus.  He 
has  perpetual  influence  on  earth  and  everlasting  work 
and  happiness  in  heaven. 


THE  COMPENSATIONS  OF  LIFE   AND  DEATH. 

A.  p.    (dean)  STANLEY,   D.D. 

To  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain. — Phil.  1:  31. 

T>AUL  is  writing  to  his  best  beloved  converts.  He 
opens  his  heart  more  fully  to  them  than  to  any 
others.  He  looks  on  death  and  life,  and  knows  not 
which  to  choose.  He  sees  the  good  of  both,  gives  us  his 
reasons  for  desiring  the  one  and  then  the  other.  These 
give  us  the  depth  of  his  tenderness.  They  reveal  the 
innermost  heart. 

I.  To  die  is  gain.  We  have  often  felt  this,  as  we 
look  at  the  sufferings  of  this  mortal  life — its  sickness, 
miseries,  disappointments,  temptations.  And  we  have 
felt  it  for  those  that  we  love,  whose  lives  are  fraught  with 
so  many  chances  of  fatal  shipwreck,  that  they  may  well 
long  for  the  day,  when  they  shall  have  done  with  the 
anxious  trials  and  petty  quarrels,  baffled  hopes  and  grind- 
ing toil  of  this  harassing  world  and  gone  to  be  with  Jesus. 
It  is  by  reflecting  on  this  clear  gain,  that  the  mind  bows 
itself  to  the  Supreme  will,  the  heart  nerves  itself  to  the 
terrible  thought  of  t\}(}  livst  drea4  surnnions  from  all  W9 


MIDDLE    AGE.  IDO 

love  and  see  ;  and  the  sonl  is  committed  with  such  as- 
sured confidence  into  the  hands  of  its  faithful  Creator 
and  merciful  Saviour.  These  is  something  greater  than 
the  gain  and  rest  of  death;  it  is  the  struggle  and  victory 
of  life. 

II.  To  live  is  Christ,  Death  in  a  sense  is  the  gate  of 
life  eternal,  but  it  is  in  life,  this  life,  that  graces  must 
be  wrought  and  fashioned  that  shall  prejiare  the  soul  for 
the  enjoyment  of  eternal  life.  Paul  jireaches,  with  all  his 
heart  and  soul,  the  infinite  preciousness  of  life.  The 
Christian  has  the  consciousness  that  in  this  life  is  the 
very  work  and  presence  of  Christ.  By  leaving  our  work 
here  before  the  time,  we  leave  His  work  undone.  By 
turning  our  backs  in  impatience  on  .this  mortal  scene, 
we  turn  them  on  Him  who  is  in  these  very  struggles  and 
sufferings.  Every  step  forward  in  the  cause  of  good  is  a 
step  nearer  to  the  life  of  Christ.  Life  is  the  state  in 
which  Christ  makes  Himself  known  to  us  and  through 
which  we  must  make  ourselves  known  to  Him.  He 
sanctified  and  glorified  every  stage  of  it.  And  at  every 
place  and  in  every  company  He  was  the  same  Divine 
Master  and  Friend.  Think  then  how  much  we  have  to 
do  for  Christ,  and  like  Christ  in  whatever  is  left  to  us 
of  life.  To  rise  above  ourselves,  to  lose  ourselves  in  the 
thought  of  this  great  work  that  God  has  placed  before  us. 
For  the  sake  of  doing  this,  the  apostle  would  consent  to 
ji^'e,  would  prefer  life  with  all  its  sorrows  to  death  with 
all  its  gain.  Death  to  us  may  be  perfectly  desirable, 
but  life  to  us  should  be  perfectly  beautiful. 


Thou  art  my  King- 


My  King  henceforth  alone; 
And  I,  thy  servant,  Lord,  am  all  thine  own. 
Give  me  thy  strength ;  oh!  let  thy  dwelling  be 
In  this  popr  Ijeart  that  pants,  my  Lord,  for  thee  1 


300  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 


THE  RENDEZVOUS  OF  HUMANITY. 

JOHN   GUMMING,  D.D. 

1  know  tJiou  wilt  bring  me  to  death,  &c. — Job  xxx  :  23. 

nnHIS  was  the  clear  conviction  of  the  patriarch,  and  it 
should  be  ours.     All  around  may  be  uncertain,  but 
this  is  sure.     We  cannot    evade  it,  however    exalted, 
beautiful,  wealthy,  or  strong. 

I.  The  grounds  of  his  conviction. 

1.  What  Tie  saio.  The  dissolutions  of  households. 
The  graves  around  him.  The  memorial  tablets.  The 
four  messengers  doming  in  quick  succession  announcing 
the  destruction  of  his  possessions  and  the  death  of  his 
children.     Are  not  similar  things  seen  by  us  ? 

2.  JoVs  oion  sicfferings.  He  had  been  smitten  with 
sore  boils— God  had  taken  him  by  the  neck,  &g.  So 
with  us,  disease  gives  its  signals — keepers  trembling, 
&c.,  grey  hairs,  wrinkles,  head  and  heart  ache,  &c. 

3.  Creation  around  impressed  on  him  the  truth  of  the 
text.  Man  cometli  forth  like  a  flower,  shadow,  grass, 
autumn,  trees,  night,  sleep,  &c.,  all  types  of  death  ap- 
proaching. 

4.  Divine  teaching  inculcated  the  same  lesso7i.  We 
might  suppose  there  would  be  no  need  of  this.  But  im- 
pressions made  by  death  on  us  are  often  effaced  as 
marks  on  tbe  sand  by  the  sea.  David,  aware  of  this, 
prayed,  ^^  make  me  to  know  mine  end,  &c."  Moses, 
''  Teach  us  so  to  number,  &c."  This  teaching  should  be 
sought  by  us.     It  was  doubtless  by  Job. 

II.  The  immediate  dispenser  of  death.  "  Thou  wilt 
bring  me,  &c."  W^e  are  prone  to  attribute  death  to 
many  causes.  Faith  will  raise  its  head  above  all  and  say, 
^'Itis  th§   Lord,"     Job  ^id  not  say^  the  Sabeaus  that 


MIDDLE    AGE.  201 

smote  or  the  whirlwind  that  swept,  &c.,  but  'Hhe  Lord 
hath  taken  away."  God  gives  the  commission  to  death. 
He  fixes  the  time  when  the  stroke  shall  fall,  &c.,  and 
when  the  dust  shall  return,  &c.  Of  this  truth  Job  made 
a  personal  application.  '^  Thou  wilt  bring  me  to  death." 
It  is  thus  that  we  should  listen  to  the  statements  of 
God's  word.  There  must  be  a  personal  appropriation 
of  the  truth. 

III.  The  description  of  the  change  of  which  the 
patriarchs  was  assured,  *^  Death  and  the  house."  Death 
is  the  child  of  sin,  but  grace  has  made  it  the  servant  of 
Jesus.  The  separation  of  the  soul  and  body,  the  latter 
to  rest  in  its  bed  of  dust  till  the  resurrection,  the  former 
to  go  to  its  own  place. 

The  body  goes  to  the  "house,  &c.,"  the  narrow  one 
appointed  for  all  living.  Into  it  every  other  house 
pours  its  inmates.  In  it,  bitter  foes  sleep  peacefully  to- 
gether. It  is  a  dark  house.  No  lamp  suspended  from 
its  ceiling.  No  light  shines  into  its  chamber.  It  is  a 
solitary  house.  No  communion,  intercourse — each  alike 
unknowing  and  unknown.  It  is  a  silent  house.  No 
note  either  of  weal  or  of  woe  ever  escapes  a  lip.  The 
tongue  of  the  eloquent  is  dumb — the  knell  of  a  dissolv- 
ing world  will  first  break  the  silence.  It  is  an  ancient 
house.  Its  first  stone  was  laid  in  paradise.  Every  gen- 
eration since  might  have  clasped  hands  and  sung  ''  what- 
ever we  do,  wherever  we  go,  we're  travelling  to  the 
grave. " 

This  house  has  its  sunlit  side.  It  is  not  an  eternal 
prison  house,  but  a  resting  place,  a  sleeping  place. 
"Thou  wilt  call  and  I  will  answer  thee,  &c."  If  it  is 
true  that  man  must  die,  it  is  also  as  true  that  man  shall 
live  again.  Nature  and  revelation  alike  proclaim  it. 
The  leaves  of  autumn  turn  golden  as  they  fall,  "  This 
porruptible  must  put  on  incorruption," 
9* 


202  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

Ifc  is  not  a  strange  house.  Parents  and  friends  have 
occupied  it  before  us.  The  Lord  of  life  has  lain  in  its 
chambers,  perfumed  it  with  his  presence,  and  gave  it 
His  own  consecration — ^^Come,  see  the  place."  The 
15th  chapter  of  1  Corinthians  is  its  epitaph,  and  es- 
pecially the  words,  ^*  Thanks  be  unto  God,  &c."  Think 
often  of  this  house.  See  it  rising  amid  the  palaces  and 
halls  and  mansions  of  earth.  Prepare  for  taking  your 
place  within  its  walls,  and  for  having  planted  at  its  door 
as  your  memorial  of  hope  the  laurel  and  the  palm. 


GKATITUDE  FOR  TRIUMPH. 

REV.  WM.  JAY. 
Thanks  be  to  Ood  which  giveth  us  the  victory,  &c.  I  Cor.  xv  :  57. 
'T^HERE  is  something  very  interesting  and  poetic  in 
this  chapter,  arising  partly  from  association,  and 
partly  from  the  subject.  The  resurrection  is  only  con- 
sidered here  in  reference  to  those  who  sleep  in  Jesus. 
How  sublime  the  words  immediately  preceding  our  text. 
Let  us  consider : 

L  The  victory.  Victory  supposes  warfare — war- 
fare, enemies.  These  enemies  are  sin,  the  world,  Satan, 
death  and  the  grave.  We  combine  the  two  last,  because 
it  is  scarcely  possible  to  treat  them  separately,  and  the 
Apostle  mentions  them  together.  He  con quers  d eath  who 
is  not  and  cannot  be  injured  by  it.  This  is  the  case  with 
every  Christian.  Death  is  stingless  to  them.  Death 
stung  our  Surety,  and  left  its  sting  in  Him,  so  there  is 
none  for  a  believer.  Sin  is  the  sting  of  death,  that  He 
bore  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  and  put  away  sin  by 
the  sacrifice  of  Himself.  Death  comes  to  the  believer  so 
changed,  so  glorious,  m  be^tiflc,  tl;at  it  J6  only  ^  f?lUing 


MIDDLE    AQB.  203 

aslco])  ill  Jesus.  It  only  extends  to  tlie  body  at  most — 
and  that  body  rises  a  better  body  than  lay  down' — the  re- 
surrection body  will  be  an  advantage,  not  a  clog  to  the 
soul.  It  will  be  modelled  after  the  body  of  the  Son  of 
God.  He  who  has  conquered  death  through  Jesus  rises 
above  the  apprehension  of  it,  and  realizes  all  this  joy 
and  all  this  blessedness  even  now.  Thanks  for  the 
victory  ! 

II.  The  acquisition.  It  is  given,  'Mvhogiveth."  We 
gain  it,  but  God  gives  it.  He  gives  us  the  capacity,  and 
we  fight  and  win  through  grace.  2.  It  is  dispensed 
through  the  mediation  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  In  the  work 
of  our  salvation,  Jesus  as  a  mediator  is  never  left  out. 
There  is  not  a  blessing  comes  to  us  through  any  other 
channel.  He  is  all  in  all.  3.  It  is  gradually  exemplified 
and  accomplished.  It  is  not  said  that  he  will,  or  has, 
but  he  " givcth,''  hecimse  it  is  gradually  confirmed  and 
experienced.  It  is  carried  on  through  the  whole  course 
of  the  believer's  life  and  perfected  in  death. 

III.  The  gratitude.  If  men  get  gratitude  for  their 
favors,  surely  God  ought  for  his  salvation.  If  He  were  to 
discontinue  his  favors,  in  what  a  state  of  destitution  and 
wretchedness  would  we  be  found.  Gratitude  consists  in 
the  return  of  a  benefit  received.  Though  we  cannot 
make  an  adequate  return  to  God,  we  ought  to  make  a 
suitable  return.  Gratitude  will  appear  in  our  asking, 
''What  shall  we  render,  &c.,"  in  the  sentiments  of  the 
mind,  in  the  disposition  of  the  heart,  in  the  language  of 
the  lip,  and  in  the  language  of  the  life.  The  best  grati- 
tude is  shown  in  the  degree  and  quality  of  the  fruit  we 
bear. 

As  a  stimulus  to  gratitude,  dwell  upon  the  blessings 
themselves  ;  get  an  increasing  sense  of  your  own  un- 
worthincss.  A  man  is  thankful  in  proportion  as  he  is 
humble,    Get  m  ussurunce  of  your  interest  in  tlio  blessed- 


204  MEMORIAL      TIUBUTES. 

ness  of  the  Lord.  ^'I  love  the  Lord  because  he  hath 
heard,  etc."  Walk  before  Him  in  newness  of  life.  They 
that  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  will  be  still  praising 
Him. 


DELIVERANCE  FROM  THE  GRAVE. 

CANON"  F.  W.  FAREAR. 
Tlie  creature  itself  also  shall  be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  corrup- 
tion.—Ro^i.  8:21. 

^r^HE  announcement  of  the  angels  to  the  women  afc  the 
sepulcher  was  the  most  joyous  ever  made  to  human 
ears.  Our  years,  as  they  increase,  remind  us  our  Lord 
died,  as  we  soon  must  die,  and  that  He  jiut  his  foot 
upon  the  skull  of  death,  that  he  might  still  the  groaning 
of  a  travaiiing  creation,  and  take  from  us  all  dread  of 
the  conquered  foe. 

L  Death  is  naturally  to  be  dreaded.  Savage  nations 
live  in  constant  horror  of  deatli.  This  cannot  be  won- 
dered at.  They  know  of  no  world  beyond  the  grave,  and 
what  would  life  be  without  faith  in  that  ? 

II.  If  there  be  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  infinitely 
pathetic  and  unsj^ealcably  lieartrending  would  he  the 
'plienomena  of  death  itself.  "'  If  Christ  be  not  risen,  &c." 
Then  they  also  that  have  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are 
perished.  Perished  !  what  a  world  of  desolate  anguish, 
what  sighs  of  unutterable  despair,  lie  hid  in  that  strange 
word  !  All  good  and  great  have  perished  and  so  must  we. 
How  frightful  then  to  live  as  we  are  living  in  the 
world  ! 

HI.  But,  we  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
For  the  body  the  same,  though  glorified,  and  re-united 
to  a  soul,  though  the  same  yet  infinitely  enlarged  and 
made  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.     Yes:  "  Christ  is 


MIDDLE    AGS.  205 

risen."  How  these  words  change  the  whole  aspect  of 
human  life  !  Nothing  short  of  this  could  be  our  proof 
and  pledge  that  we  also  shall  rise.  We  are  not  left  to 
dim  intimations  or  vague  hopes,  or  faint  analogies,  but 
we  have  a  permanent  and  a  firm  conviction,  a  sure  and 
certain  hope.  Look  into  the  Saviour's  empty  tomb. 
"He  is  not  here  :  He  is  risen,  as  He  said."  They  that 
sleep  in  all  those  narrow  graves  shall  wake  again,  shall 
rise  again.  Weep  not  widowed  wife,  father,  orphan  boy. 
Thy  dead  shall  live.  They  shall  come  forth  from  the 
power  of  death  and  Hades.  What  a  mighty  victory ! 
What  a  giant  sporting  !  What  a  trampling  of  the  last 
enemy  bencatli  the  feet !  What  a  hope,  w^hat  a  change 
in  the  thought  of  life  !  Bravely  and  hap})i]y  let  us  walk 
through  the  dark  valley,  for  out  of  it  is  a  door  of  immor- 
tality that  opens  on  the  gardens  of  heaven  and  the  streams 
of  life,  where  the  whole  soul  is  flooded  by  the  sense 
of  a  newer  and  grander  being,  and  our  tears  wiped  away 
by  God's  own  hand.  This  is  the  Christian's  hope  trul}^, 
and  herein  Christ  makes  us  more  than  conquerors,  more 
than  conquerors,  for  we  not  only  triumph  over  the 
enemy,  but  profit  by  him,  wringing  out  of  his  curse  a 
blessing,  out  of  his  prison,  a  coronation  and  a  home. 
"'  It  is  sown  in  corruption,  &c."  Let  us  live  in  love,  in 
humility,  in  Christ  and  for  Christ.  This  will  make  us 
noble  and  happy  in  life,  this  will  strengthen  us  to 
smile  at  death,  this  will  cause  us  to  live  all  our  days  in 
the  continual  light  of  these  two  most  marvelous  of  all 
Christian  truths  :  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and 
the  immortality  of  the  soul. 


200  ueMobial   tributes. 


THE  MATCH  OF  THE  GREAT  DESTROYER 

REV.  ARCHIBALD  G.  BROWK. 
Love  is  strong  as  death. — Cant,  viii:  6, 
T^EATH,  like  a  Goliath,  walks  up  and  down  our  world, 
'^  challenging  some  one  to  enter  the  lists  and  compete 
with  him.  Incarnate  Love  heard,  accepted  the  challenge, 
fought  the  battle  on  death's  chosen  territory,  and  won 
the  victory. 

I.  The  power  of  love.  The  truth  of  our  text  was 
shown : 

1.  By  Ghrisfs  life.  All  through  it,  in  the  healing  of 
diseases  and  in  the  raising  of  the  dead,  in  his  determina- 
tion to  go  to  Jerusalem,  in  his  struggle  in  Gethsemane, 
in  his  death  upon  Calvary,  it  was  manifest  that  His  love 
was  as  strong  as  death. 

2.  His  love  was  as  strong  as  death,  luhen  death  had 
every  advantage.  Christ's  love  was  as  strong  as  a  linger- 
ing death,  life  slowly  ebbing  and  fever  fiercely  burning. 
As  a  lonely  death,  the  disciples  all  had  forsaken  Him, 
mockers  only  around  him.  Not  one  to  pity.  As  a  shame- 
ful death — witliout  robes  and  dying  a  felon's  death.  As 
a  Ood-deserted  death.  No  child  of  God,  no  believer  in 
Jesus  ever  experienced  that — but  Jesus  cried  '^My  God, 
My  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  Love  is  stroi^g- 
ER  than  death  in  its  conquering  power.  Death  can  do  a 
great  deal,  but  he  cannot  touch  the  will  nor  lay  hold  of 
the  affection,  nor  destroy  the  believer's  joy,  nor  stop  his 
song,  but  love  can  carry  the  whole  man  captive.  Love 
is  stronger  than  death  in  its  retaining  power.  Death 
can  on]y  claim  the  sleeping  dust  for  a  time,  but  love 
holds  that  dust  still  as  its  own,  and  on  the  resurrection 
morning,  death  will  have  to  yield  its  prey  at  the  call  of 


MIDDLE    AOE.  20^ 

all-powerful  love.  Love  is  stronger  than  death  in  its 
purifying  power.  Death  does  not  purify  ;  it  has  no 
power  to  alter  character — it  reduces  the  body  to  cor- 
ruption, but  love  kisses  man's  sin  away,  his  hatred  and 
impurity  and  temper  out  of  him,  turns  a  hell  into  a 
heaven,  a  vulture  into  a  dove,  a  lion  into  a  lamb.  Love 
is  triumphant  over  death  in  all  particulars.  Love 
changes  the  vile  body  and  makes  it  like  unto  Christ's 
glorious  body. 

11.  The  prayer  of  this  love.    ''  Set  me  as  a  seal." 

Christ  requests  us  to  do  for  Him  what  He  has  done 
for  us.  He  bears  the  name  of  every  believer  on  his  heart 
and  on  his  arm.  He  covets  a  place  in  the  lieart.  Queen 
Mary  said  when  she  was  dying,  that  Calais  would  be 
found  written  upon  her  heart.  Christ  asks  his  name  to 
be  written  there,  never  to  be  erased.  Prosperity  would 
erase  it.  Domestic  love  would  erase  it,  troubles  would 
erase  it.    Let  it  remain  there  for  ever. 

Christ  covets  a  place  on  your  arm,  where  everybody 
can  see  it.  Sailors  sometimes  tattoo  the  name  of  their 
ship  upon  their  arm.  Let  Christ's  name  be  upon  your 
arm,  where  all  can  read  it.  So  live,  act,  work  that  no- 
body can  come  in  contact  with  you  without  saying. 
*' There  is  the  Master's  spirit  in  this  man.  His  name  is 
upon  his  very  arm.  His  every-day  work  is  consecrated 
to  the  Saviour." 

Christ  offers  this  all-conquering  love  to  every  one 
who  will  accept  it  as  a  free  gift. 

Death  is  strong  enough  to  crush  us,  and  we  have  to 
meet  that  foe  at  last.  Let  us  fly  to  thai,  which  is  even 
stronger  than  death.  Love  can  conquei"  us.  It  is 
stronger  than  the  grave,  for  it  will  retain  its  hold  of  us 
while  there  and  through  eternity  besides. 


^08  MEMOIUAL      TBIBUTES, 


NO  VICTORY  WITHOUT  A  BATTLE. 

MORGAN   DIX,  D.D. 
Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  (Ssc. — Num.  xxiii:  10. 
HE  last  best  gift  of  God  in  this  world  is  desired  by 


T 


one  of  the  worst  and  most  corrupt  of  men.  The 
desire  of  the  heart  and  the  manner  of  life  can  thus  be 
at  variance — an  awful  contrast  between  the  wish  and  the 
act.  Men  are  foolish  enough  to  think  that  they  can 
have  what  God  promises  without  doing  wliat  God  com- 
mands— liave  the  victory  without  the  battle.  There  is 
much  of  Balaam's  wish  still  in  the  world— God  in 
Balaam's  death  set  his  seal  on  ail  such  contradictions  as 
Balaam's  life,  and  a  righteous  death  following. 

I.  No  man  ought  to  expect  to  come  to  a  good  death 
who  will  not  lead  a  good  life.  The  world  is  not  govern- 
ed by  chance,  fate  or  caprice,  but  by  the  just  and  equit- 
able laws  of  a  Righteous  Ruler.  There  is  a  unity  in 
the  various  parts  of  God's  Avorld.  *'Men  do  not  gather 
grapes  of  thorns,  &c."  If  they  could,  every  thing  would 
be  in  confusion.  We  should  not  know  what  to  expect. 
But  there  is  unity  and  harmony  in  the  worlcings  of 
God's  laws  in  nature,  providence  and  grace.  No  new 
law  in  this  respect  has  come  in  under  the  Gospel.  We 
cannot  speak  of  death-bed  repentances  with  too  great 
reserve.  These  repentances  occur  when  the  power  of 
sinning  forsakes  the  man,  the  man  may  not  have  for- 
saken his  desire  to  sin.  The  Gospel  liolds  out  no  hope 
to  delay.  God  promises  pardon  to  the  penitent,  but  not 
a  to-morrow  to  the  procrastinator.  The  dying  thief's  case 
only  adds  weight  to  our  argument.  Common  sense  and 
God's  word  unite  in  the  establishment  of  our  proposi- 


MIDDLE    AGE.  200 

tion  and  tlie  familiar  words  of  the  poet  sums  it  up. 
Ps.  xxxvii  :  ^'Mark  the  perfect  man,  &c." 

II.  No  wishes,  however  earnest,  do  of  necessity  bring 
with  them  the  thing  wished  for.  Balaam's  end  shows 
this.  It  would  be  a  reversal  of  all  that  God  and  con- 
science show  about  causes  aud  effects  in  the  realm,  of  our 
spiritual  life.  See  how  things  are  going — what  keeps 
society  healthy  and  sound — the  ravages  of  ^'  the  famine 
of  the  world."  How  unthinkingly  men  lie  down  and  die 
and  survivors  speak  of  them  as  safe.  Go  away  without 
any  preparation  and  yet  with  an  amazing  confidence 
that  all  shall  hereafter  be  well.  Listen  to  people  talk 
about  sinners  tifter  death  as  if  pain  was  over.  They 
ignore  future  punishment.  Are  there  not  huo  worlds 
beyond  ?  It  is  not  Christian  doctrine  to  speak  otherwise 
— but  a  delusion — the  wish  elevated  into  a  creed. 
Universal  salvation  rests  only  on  a  wish,  and  this  comes 
from  that  other  wish,  to  have  all  tlie  world  can  give 
now,  and  all  that  heaven  can  give  us  hereafter.  On  this 
wish  rests  all  modern  scepticism.  But  if  wishing  what 
we  want  is  not  effectual  as  to  the  things  of  this  life 
why  should  it  be  in  the  things  of  the  life  to  come  ? 
Jude  warns  us  not  to  fall  into  the  error  of  Balaam.  We 
must  perform  what  has  to  be  done  to  get  the  things 
craved.  Do  not  forget  what  came  of  Balaam  at  last. 
The  wish  led  to  no  good  result.  He  rebelled  more  and 
more.  Men  cannot  change  the  order  of  God's  laws. 
Who  hath  rebelled  against  them  and  prospered  ? 

It  is  a  good  then,  to  die  the  death  of  the  righteous, 
to  rest  like  him  in  dignity  and  beauty.  It  is  joy  with 
peace,  a  trust  in  God  that  rests  on  strong  foundations, 
a  heart  confiding  in  a  covenant  promise  which  it  knows 
to  be  certain  and  sure,  perfect  submission  to  the  will  of 
Him  who  is  love,  resignation  of  self,  r.nd  all  in  those 
hands  which  come  forth  through  tlic  gatiiering  darkness 


U6  MEMORIAL     TRiJBUTiSS. 

— an  end  like  this  here  and  we  shall  find  beyond  it  a  home 
and  a  portion  for  ever. 


THE  PLACE  OF  SACRED  DEPOSIT. 

REV.  CANOK  H.  MELVILL. 
Behold  the  place  wTiere  they  laid  Him.  Mark  xvi :  6. 
^HESE  words  were  addressed  to  the  Marys,  who 
visited  thesepulcher  on  the  Resurrection  morning. 
Their  devotedness  put  to  shame  the  stronger  sex.  Their 
love  had  its  reward.  Angels  announced  first  to  them 
the  best  tidings  ever  proclaimed  to  mortal  ears.  The 
resurrection  of  Jesus  and  the  empty  sepulcher. 

I.  The  information  given  to  the  women.     "Be  not  af- 
frighted, &c." 

1.  The  address  is  an  acknowledgment  of  their 
devotedness.  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  that  was  the  name 
of  contempt.  They  were  seeking  Him.  They  loved 
Him  while  living,  and  they  love  Him  when  dead,  though 
He  had  been  crucified  between  two  thieves.  We  must 
not  turn  away  from  Christ  in  his  humility.  The  cross 
is  the  source  of  all  hope  and  must  be  clung  to  with 
adoring  piety — for  there  only  can  we  be  comforted  with 
the  words,  "  Be  not  affrighted." 

2.  The  address  gives  information  as  to  the  disap- 
pearance of  Christ's  body.  The  angels  would  have  them 
see  the  empty  sepulcher,  as  if  that  sight  were  enough  to 
convince  of  the  certainty  of  Christ's  resurrection.  So 
it  was.  His  disciples  were  too  timid  to  attempt  the  re- 
moval, and  his  enemies  were  determined  to  hold  the 
dead  body  in  their  grasp.  The  sight  of  the  empty  place 
should  therefore  be  sufficient  evidence  of  Christ's  resur- 
rection. 


MIDDLE    AGE.  211 

Let  lis  also  ^'behold  the  place,"  gaze  on  the  con- 
secrated spot  and  gather  in  the  wonders  with  which  it 
is  haunted.  It  is  the  scene  of  the  mightiest  prodigy 
ever  known  on  earth.  There  the  dead  stirred  itself,  the 
inanimate  Being  sprung  by  his  own  volition  into  life. 
Behold,  and  acknowledge  the  Divinity  of  Christ.  "Be- 
hold the  place;"  in  being  emptied,  earth  and  sea  may  be 
said  to  have  given  up  their  dead — Christ  was  the 
representative  of  the  countless  myriads  of  human 
kind.  Behold  the  change  effected  by  the  Redeemer  for 
his  followers — the  grave,  instead  of  being  the  home  of 
all  that  is  hideous  and  revolting,  has  an  angel  for  its 
tenant,  rich  odors  for  its  perfume.  The  grave  has  be- 
come a  bed  and  death  a  sleep  to  those  who  put  faith  in 
His  name.  Behold  it  in  your  tears  and  sorrow,  not  as 
those  who  have  no  hope — in  your  hopes,  that  you  may 
look  for  glorious  things  from  your  Forerunner.  Behold 
it,  ye  who  care  little  for  the  soul  and  eternity,  and 
think  if  Christ  can  be  neglected  with  impunity — flee  to 
Him  as  a  Saviour  before  He  appears  as  an  Avenger. 
Patiently  inspect  the  empty  sepulcher  and  learn  all  its 
lessons. 

II.  The  commissioii  with  which  they  were  charged. 
These  women  were  abundantly  rewarded  for  their  devo- 
tion and  love.  They  became  apostles  to  the  apostles 
themselves.  Preached  first  the  resurrection  to  those  who 
were  to  preach  it  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Christ  first 
showed  his  love  to  those  who  forsook  Him  and  fled,  and 
to  Peter  especially.  These  two  words,  "  and  Peter,"  are 
a  Gospel  in  themselves. 

III.  The  promise.  "He  goeth  before  you  into 
Galilee,  there  shall  ye  see  Him,  &c."  Galilee  was  the 
place  where  he  was  seen  by  500  brethren  at  once. 
Galilee  was  the  place  where  he  was  likely  to  be  generally 
known,  where  He  had  been  brought  up,  wrought  his  first 


Sl^  MEMOMIAL      TMlBUT^S. 

miracle,  labored  most  abundantly.  ^'  Galilee  of  the 
Gentiles,"  on  the  borders  of  Judea,  adjoining  heathen 
territories.  His  meeting  the  disciples  there  might  be  in- 
tended to  mark  that  all  men — Gentile  as  well  as  Jew — 
had  interest  in  tlie  fact  of  the  resurrection,  or  that  the 
blessings  of  the  new  dispensation  were  not  to  be  restrict- 
ed as  were  those  of  the  old. 

There  is  always  some  place  of  which  it  may  be  said 
to  his  disciples,  ^*  There  shall  ye  see  Him,"  ^^He  goeth 
before  joii.'' 

As  the  Forerunner  of  His  people  He  has  gone  within 
the  veil,  to  prepare  a  place  for  them,  where  they  shall  see 
Him  face  to  face  and  know  as  they  are  known.  It  is  to 
those  who  love  Christ,  though  yet  invisible,  that  He  shall 
hereafter  show  Himself .  in  his  benignity  and  majesty. 
They  shall  lie  down  to  rest  in  a  grave,  hallowed  by  hav- 
ing once  held  the  body  of  Christ,  they  shall  wake  up 
*'  to  be  like  Him,  for  they  shall  see  Him  as  He  is." 


CHKIST'S    DESIEE    TO    HAVE    HIS   PEOPLE 
WITH  HIM. 

J.    M'^ELROY,    D.D. 

Father,  1  will  that  thou  also  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with  me, 

&c. — John  xvii;  34. 

T^HESE  words  form  part  of  a  prayer  the  most  w^onder- 
ful  that   ever  ascended   from   this  world  to   the 
throne  of  God. 

No  subject  pressed  so  heavily  upon  the  heart  of  the 
Saviour  as  the  safety,  stability,  and  comfort  of  his  dis- 
cijoles.  His  anxiety  for  them  seems  to  have  increased  as 
he  approached  the  termination  of  His  suffering  career. 
In  order  to  manifest  the  extent  and  })erpetuity  of  His 


MIDDLE    AOE.  213 

love  for  them.  He  prays  that  they  may  be  with  Him 
where  He  is,  &c.     Let  us  consider  : 

I.  What  the  glory  of  Christ  is.  It  includes  :  1.  The 
glory  of  his  person.  The  true  glory  of  his  person  was 
in  a  great  measure  veiled  during  his  abode  on  earth. 
There  were  indeed  many  traces  of  perfection  in  Him  far 
surpassing  those  wliich  belong  to  mere  human  nature, 
but  it  was  reserved  for  the  heavenly  world  to  disclose 
the  glorious  excellencies  of  His  character.  There,  He  is 
revealed  as  '^overall,  God  blessed  for  ever."  2.  The 
glory  of  liis  exaltation.  This  consists  in  the  dignity  to 
which  He  is  raised,  and  the  adoration  which  He  receives 
in  the  heavenly  world.  The  former  is  referred  to  in  that 
passage  in  Ephesians  beginning  thus,  ^'  God  hath  set 
Him  at  his  own  right  hand,  &c.,"  and  the  latter  in  that 
verse  in  Revelation,  beginning  with,  '^I  beheld  and  heard 
the  voice  of  many  angels  around  the  throne,  &c."  3.  His 
glory  is  the  communicative  source  of  all  the  blessedness 
which  the  heavenly  inliabitants  enjoy.  What  mind  can 
conceive,  far  less  adequately  describe,  the  joy  of  a  soul 
as  it  spends  an  eternity  amid  blessedness  and  glory  like 
this  ?  4.  The  glory  which  redounds  to  Him  from  the 
government  of  the  universe.  ''AH  things  are  put  under 
His  feet."  "Lord  of  all."  What  must  be  their  rapture 
as  they  behold  His  glory. 

II.  The  purport  of  his  prayer  in  relation  to  it.  It 
intimates  :  1.  That  Christ,  having  i)erformed  His  cove- 
nant engagements  for  his  people,  now  claims  heaven  for 
them.  Heaven  was  due  to  the  Saviour  in  virtue  of 
his  obedience  and  sacrifice,  and  in  this  prayer  He 
unites  his  people's  claim  with  his  own,  and  requests 
that  they  be  with  him.  2.  His  strong  and  unchangeable 
love  for  his  people.  He  was  neither  ashamed  nor  tired 
of  his  connection  with  them.  His  heart  was  wrapt  up 
in  the  safety  and  glory  of  his  people.     He  could  no  longer 


214  MEMORIAL     TItIBUTE&. 

be  with  tliem,  and  He  wanted  tliem  to  be  with  Him. 
His  love  was  stronger  than  death,  and  will  be  lasting  as 
eternity.  3.  To  be  with  Christ  in  His  glory  is  the  con- 
summation of  salvation  to  his  people.  There  are  other 
sources  of  delight  to  them,  but  this  crowns  all— death  is 
but  an  answer  to  the  prayer  of  the  text. 

III.  For  whom  was  this  prayer  offered.  They  are 
described  as  those  whom  the  Father  had  given  Him, 
whom  the  Father  had  selected  in  eternity  from  the  rest 
of  mankind,  and  given  to  Christ  to  redeem,  and  to  bring 
to  glory  as  the  reward  of  His  humiliation  and  sufferings. 
All  of  these,  no  matter  when  or  where  they  have  lived, 
or  may  yet  live,  as  they  are  the  reward  of  his  sufferings, 
the  purchase  of  his  blood,  ^Hhe  travail  of  his  soul," 
shall  assuredly  one  day  be  collected  around  his  throne, 
and  behold  his  glory  or  be  made  partakers  of  it.  In 
conclusion  : 

1.  What  an  imjDortant  and  blessed  event  to  the  people 
of  God  is  death  when  contemplated  in  the  light  of  this 
subject.  A  departure  from  this  world  of  sin  and  sorrow, 
of  suffering  and  dying,  to  behold  for  ever  the  glory  of 
the  Saviour  in  the  light  and  blessedness  of  heaven — to 
dwell  for  ever  near  the  Saviour's  glorified  person — to 
enjoy  for  ever  the  beatific  vision  of  God,  to  become  the 
associate  of  angels,  and  one  of  the  innumerable  multi- 
tude of  ^'the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect." 

2.  What  solid  ground  for  resignation  and  comfort  on 
the  death  of  pious  relatives  and  friends  does  this  subject 
present.  Nature  will  feel  and  Christianity  does  not  for- 
bid sorrow,  but  when  we  think  on  where  and  how  our 
loved  ones  now  are,  we  cannot  but  bow  in  peaceful  sub- 
mission to  the  dispensation  that  has  taken  them  away* 


MIDDLE    AGK  215 


A  PKEOIOUS  DEATH. 

J.  M.  HOWARD,    D.D. 

Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints. 
Ps.  cxvi :  15. 

THE  same  event  is  differently  regarded  by  different 
people.  The  view  we  take  of  an  occurrence  de- 
pends on  oar  position,  on  the  relations  we  sustain,  on 
our  strength  or  weakness,  and  above  all,  on  our  know- 
ledge or  lack  of  knowledge.  The  child  cannot  grasp  the 
thoughts  of  his  parents ;  the  private  soldier  cannot  in- 
terpret the  incidents  of  a  battle  as  the  commander  can. 
In  like  manner  "  God's  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts, 
nor  his  ways  our  ways."  And  in  no  matter  is  God's 
view  more  different  from  ours,  than  in  the  matter  of 
death.  Often  when  we  feel  that  the  bereavement  is 
overwhelming,  the  divine  voice  is,  ''It  is  expedient  for 

you." 

The  death  of  a  saint,  which  often  wears  the  aspect 
of  so  terrible  a  calamity  to  us,  is  always  precious  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord.  And,  though  we  cannot  enter  into 
God's  thoughts,  we  can  conceive  of  some  reasons  why 
this  is  true  : — 

I.  Death  is  the  final  transformation;  it  is  the  last 
touch  of  the  chisel  of  the  Divine  Sculptor.  The  dis- 
cipline of  burden  bearing,  of  pain,  of  disappointment 
and  loss,  are  all  the  touches  of  the  divine  hand  shaping 
the  trusting  soul  for  its  spiritual  destiny.  Death  is  the 
final  touch,  weaning  us  from  earth,  opening  our  eyes  to 
heaven.     It  is  precious,  then,  as  the  final  transformer. 

II.  The  death  of  a  saint  is  precious  as  the  climax  of 
usefulness.  A  good  man's  words  and  deeds  never  have 
such  power  as  when  his  features  are  composed  and  his 


216  MEMORIAL      TRIBVTE8. 

hands  folded  in  tlie  sleep  of  death.  What  an  added  im- 
portance do  we  attach  to  the  acts  and  utterances  of 
President  Garfield,  since  his  name  is  enrolled  in  the  list  of 
departed  patriots.  The  dying  testimony  of  the  martyr 
Stephen  subdued  and  won  Saul  of  Tarsus,  wliom  no 
argument  could  have  won.  So  every  triumphant  death 
crowning  a  faithful  life  is  precious  in  the  sight  of  God 
because  it  gives  irrestible  emphasis  to  the  good  done  or 
or  sj^oken.  The  departed's  earnest  utterances,  and 
faithful  labors,  never  had  such  power  to  convince  aud 
move  us  as  they  have  to  day,  when  we  remember  that  he 
was  faithful  iinto  death,  when  his  words  and  examj^le 
speak  to  us  from  another  world. 

III.  Death  is  precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  be- 
cause it  is  the  door  of  the  saint's  entrance  into  the 
heavenly  state.  God  sympathizes  with  us,  "like  as  a 
father  pitieth  his  children,"  at  every  step  in  our  career. 
Death  is  the  last  earthly  step,  and  it  is  precious  because 
it  marks  the  end  of  toil,  and  temptation,  and  danger, 
and  the  beginning  of  rest,  and  peace,  and  safety.  If  a 
mother  has  a  boy  at  sea,  the  safe  arrival  of  the  ship  that 
bears  him  is  a  precious  event.  And  death  is  the  hour  of 
safety  after  the  stormy  voyage  of  life.  By  it  we  are 
introduced  into  the  untried  realm  of  blessedness,  whose 
joys  are  too  great  to  enter  into  the  imagination  of  man. 
Christ  desires  to  have  us  witli  h.im.  We  are  needed, 
and  loved,  and  waited  for  in  heaven.  And  that  event 
which  is  to  mark  our  entrance  into  this  blessed  circle  of 
the  redeemed,  is  precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Eedeemer. 
These  thoughts  should  be  a  check  on  our  evil  forebodings, 
on  our  unbelieving  fretfulness.  If  death  is  precious  in 
our  Father's  sight  He  will  so  dispose  and  overrule  this 
dreaded  occurrence  that  it  Avill  be  for  good.  And  if  this 
"'King  of  Terrors"  is  precious  and  for  good,  all  the 
lusser  train  of  evils  may  be  met  with  confidence  and  joy. 


MIDDLE    AGS.  217 

and  our  murmuriiigs  should  be  checked.  God  knoweth 
best  and  doeth  all  things  well.  What  is  dark  to  us  is 
light  to  Him.  Our  faith  should  enter  into  God's  view 
of  life  and  death  as  far  as  human  minds  can  grasp  the 
thought  of  God ;  and  where  we  cannot  understand,  we 
should  trust  the  loving  Father,  with  the  joyful  certainty 
that  ^^  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God." 


CHKISTIAN  CONSOLATIONS. 

REV.  DAKIEL  MOORE. 
Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these  icovds.—l  Thess.  iv  :  18. 

THESE  are  the  concluding  words  of  a  paragraph 
remarkable  for  its  judicious  counsels  in  sorrow  and 
pointing  out  the  consolations  which  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
affords  under  bereavement. 

I.  The  removal  of  the  good  is  a  divinely  appointed 
event.  This  world  is  Christ's  world.  ''  The  Lord 
reigneth,"  amidst  clouds  and  darkness— desolation  and 
death,  amidst  complications  of  mischief  and  evil,  amidst 
solemn  and  mysterious  orderings  of  His  providence. 
The  dominion  of  Christ  is  over  all— over  death,  and  its 
ten  thousand  gates.  "I  am  He  that  liveth,  &c."  The 
outward  circumstances  referred  to  in  our  text  suppose 
the  removal  of  those  whom  earth  could  least  afford  to 
part  with.  But  thus,— in  every  age.  Abel,  Enoch, 
Josiah,  Stephen  appeared  to  us  to  have  been  removed 
in  the  wrong  time.  It  may  be  a  father,  husband,  patriot, 
minister.  We  are  stunned  and  silent  under  the  stroke. 
We  have  no  reason  to  give  for  these  providences.  ''  Be 
still  and  know  that  I  am  God."  It  may  be  that  the 
prayers  offered  at  such  a  time  because  of  the  afflictions 


218  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

will  bring  upon  us  greater  blessings  that  the  living  could 
have  been  the  means  of  bringing  by  a  protracted  life. 

II.  The  death  of  the  righteous  is  in  itself  a  blessed 
thing.     It  is  compared  to  the  taking  of  rest  in  sleep. 

1.  It  is  the  sleep  of  the  faithful  in  Christ  Jesus. 
They  ^' sleep  in  Jesus."  "In  Christ,"  is  frequently 
employed  to  denote  a  spiritual  union  to  Him,  our  accept- 
ance of  God's  prepared  method  of  reconciliation  to  Him- 
self by  a  mediator  and  our  actual  dependence  in  Christ 
in  the  exercise  of  a  living  faith,  the  result  of  a  divine 
influence  on  the  heart,  for  pardon,  justification  and 
eternal  life.  Death  cannot  suspend  this  relation.  It 
only  gives  it  its  grand  realization.  Dearth  interrupts 
nothing  which  we  inherit  by  faith. 

2.  It  is  the  sleep  of  assured  and  conscious  existence  ^7^ 
the  immediate  presence  of  Christ. 

Death  is  not  an  eternal  sleep.  Nor  does  the  soul 
sleep  from  the  period  of  death,  till  the  time  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. Paul  said,  after  death  he  would  be  ''  witli  Christ." 
And  when  Stephen  exclaimed,  '^  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my 
spirit,''  he  plainly  anticipated  immediate  happiness  in 
the  presence  of  Christ.  And  the  thief  fell  asleep  on 
the  cross  to  open  his  eyes  that  day  in  paradise. 

3.  It  is  the  sleep  of  repose  from  the  toils  of  life,  ac- 
companied iv'ith  the  sweet  assurance  of  the  'benefits  that 
shall  follotu. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead,"  &c.  Labor  is  an  ordained 
penalty  of  our  fallen  condition.  Not  the  labor  of  the 
husbandman  only,  but  in  all  the  anxieties,  strivings  and 
weariness  connected  with  every  calling.  The  labors 
also  of  the  Christian  life — of  keeping  the  heart  right  with 
God,  of  striving  against  the  evil  of  our  corrupt  nature, 
of  training  the  affections  to  be  surely  fixed  where  alone 
true  joys  can  be  found.  There  will  be  no  sloth  to 
arouse,  nov  reluctance  to  subdue,  no  faintness  to  fear. 


MIDDLE    AOE.  219 

no  decliniDg  feet  to  turn  back.     The  soldier  lias  hung 
up  his  arms.     The  pilgrim  has  laid  aside  his  staff. 

III.  "Their  works  follow  them."  They  are  not  unpro- 
ductive or  without  their  harvest.  How  much  good  they 
are  permitted  to  do  they  never  know.  In  the  very 
humblest  spheres  of  life  there  are  eyes  uj^on  them — 
silent  observers  taking  from  them  their  standard  of  right 
and  wrong  and  borrowing  from  them  unconsciously  the 
entire  complexion  of  their  moral  character.  Who  can 
tell  what  good  results  from  one  godly  life  ? 

IV.  The  certainty  of  the  Resurrection  to  those  who 
sleep  in  Jesus.  God  will  bring  them  with  Him  in  the 
day  of  Christ's  appearing.  Wherefore  does  the  apostle 
introduce  the  magnificent  recital  of  the  context  ?  Man- 
ifestly as  part  of  those  heavenly  consolations  which  the 
Gospel  has  provided  for  bereaved  hearts.  You  may  sor- 
row, but  not  as  those  who  have  no  hope;  for  those  asleep 
in  Jesus  are  in  blessed  keeping  still.  The  grave  has  but 
a  sacred  loan  of  their  bodies.  Truth  or  poetry  can  sug- 
gest no  more  consoling  thought  than  that  offered  by  our 
Lord  to  Martha  :  ^'  Thy  brother  shall  raise  again." 

Lastly — ^^  So  sliall  they  ever  de  with  the  Lord,^^ 
Such  is  the  apostle's  last  consolation.  He  fastens  the 
thoughts  of  the  sorrowing  friends  on  that  which  shall 
constitute  the  life  and  bhss  of  heaven,  viz.,  the  visible 
presence  and  companionship  of  the  enthroned  Redeemer. 
This  will  be  enough  to  satisfy  the  aspirations  of  an  im- 
mortal mind.  Christ  is  there  the  object  of  continual 
contemplation,  filling  the  hearts  of  all  who  worship  at 
his  footstool  with  wonder,  love  and  praise.  "  Wherefore 
comfort,  &c," 


220  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES, 


JACOB'S  DYING  WORDS. 

ANDREW   E.    BO^S'AR,    D.D. 

I  have  watted  for  thy  salvation,  0  Lord. — Gen.  xlix  :  18. 
'T^HIS  is  one  of  the   senteDces   m   God's  word,  well 

adapted  to  arrest  the  unconcerned  and  careless.  He 
who  uttered  them  had  many  trials,  and  had  always  been 
upheld  by  an  Almighty  hand.  Now  the  evening  had 
come  when  he  must  leave  the  world,  and  after  he  has 
described  the  terror  of  this  future  experience  to  his 
children,  he  makes  the  announcement  of  our  text,  which 
may  be  considered  as  Jacob's  dying  testimony  in  favor 
of  religion,  and  as  expressive  of  the  triumph  of  his  faith 
amidst  the  infirmities  that  cleaved  to  him. 

I.  The  believer  can  use  the  language  of  the  text,  be- 
cause, he  will  be  put  in  possession,  at  death,  of  a  glorious 
inheritance, — a  future  good  not  yet  attained.  The  term 
salvation  here,  denotes  that  emancipation  or  freedom 
from  ^'  the  body  of  this  death,"  after  which  the  Christian 
has  learned  to  aspire.  Long  had  Jacob  reposed  by  faith 
on  one  who  should  "  redeem  Israel  from  iniquity,"  a 
result  of  which  was  that  Jacob  had  been  tauglit  and 
enabled  to  live  as  a  ''  stranger  and  pilgrim  on  the  earth," 
and  look  forward  to  a  place  of  perfect  purity  and  rest. 
Jacob  could  look  forward  to  such  a  state  with  expecta- 
tion and  desire  where  he  could  rest  like  a  wearied  child 
sinking  to  slumber.  He  was  now  almost  on  the  thresh- 
old of  the  Father's  house,  and  had  a  desire  to  depart. 

II.  The  words  imply  Jacob's  willingness  to  leave  his 
choicest  earthly  comforts.  He  was  dying  in  the  midst  of 
those  to  whom  his  soul  was  firmly  attached.  His  sons 
were  near  to  hear  his  parting  words  and  receive  his  clos- 
ing admonitions.     His  wants  were  ministered  toby  care- 


MIDDLE    AQIS.  2521 

fill  loving  hands.  His  wishes  were  gratified.  He  had 
learned  to  look  beyond  the  dim  and  bounded  present  to 
the  regions  of  eternal  day.  His  latter  days  had  been 
spent  tn  a  pleasant  fruitful  spot,  but  he  remembered 
that  this  was  not  his  rest.  He  looked  for  a  better 
heritage  where  tlicre  was  no  vicissitude,  no  idolatry,  and 
where°he  would  be  provided  for  by  God  himself. 

III.  These  words  were  spoken  in  the  assured  belief 
that  the  trials  and  sorrow  of  life  would  soon  be  past. 

The  lot  of  man  is  one  of  toil  and  sorrow.  But 
there  is  nothing  in  affliction  by  itself,  if  unaccompanied 
by  piety,  to  make  it  a  minister  of  God.  It  was  otherwise 
with  Jacob.  Trials  had  softened  a  heart  naturally  less 
impressible.  Over  the  divisions  of  his  family  and  the 
declining  flame  of  piety  Jacob  had  mourned— and  now 
that  his  warfare  is  accomplished  and  his  work  done,  the 
veteran  saint  who  has  deplored  the  evils  he  has  been 
called  to  endure  with  true  hopefulness  of  spirit  says,  ''  I 
have  waited  for  thy  salvation,  0  Lord."  Jacob  was  will- 
ing to  exchange  earth  for  heaven.  In  many  of  its  aspects 
this  world  may  seem  fascinating.  It  is,  however,  bat  the 
ante-chamber  or  outer  court  of  Jehovah's  palace,  where 
the  assaults  of  the  evil  one  shall  have  ended,  the  immortal 
spirit  have  burst  the  fetters  that  now  restrain  it,  shall 
mount  on  eagle's  wings,  rejoice  in  perpetual  youth  and 
where  the  fullness  of  eternal  day  shall  be  obtained. 

IV.  The  Christian  may  feel  the  force  of  Jacob's  words 
inasmuch  as  he  expects  to  be  favored  with  the  nearer 
vision  of,   and  to  hold  congenial  intercourse  with  the 

Saviour.  ,     i    -,    • 

To  look,  were  that  possible,  upon  one  who  had  given 

up  his  life  for  us,  to  be  in  the  society  of  one  venerable 
because  of  his  goodness,  and  illustrious  because  of  his 
wisdom,  might  be  expected  powerfully  to  effect  and  ele- 
vate the  soul,  and  be  regarded  as  a  lofty  privilege.     In 


222  MEMORIAL     TPJBtJTm. 

heaven  Jesus  will  be  no  stranger  to  liis  people.  He  will 
feed  His  people  and  lead  them  to  living  fountains  of 
water.  They  shall  see  the  King  in  His  beauty  when 
they  awake — they  shall  be  satisfied  with  His  likeness. 
They  will  be  in  His  banqueting  house,  and  His  banner 
over  them  will  be  love. 

The  subject  teaches  us  the  importance  of  true  reli- 
gion and  the  blessedness  of  a  good  hope  through  grace, 
such  as  proceeds  from  cordial  acceptance  of  the  projoosals 
of  the  Gospel,  and  springs  from  seeking  the  friendship 
of  Him  who  has  invited  the  children  of  men  to  seek  the 
shelter  of  His  loving  hand.  Many  reasons  should  make 
us  think  much  about,  and  seek  diligently  after  this  sal- 
vation. 

Friendly  figures  and  hands  seem  to  beckon  us  across 
the  Jordan  to  Canaan,  and  heaven  and  earth  shall  sooner 
pass  away  than  one  of  the  Saviour's  promises  shall  faiL 


T 


THE  FINAL  BATTLE. 

W.  K.  WILLIAMS,  D.D. 
There  is  no  discharge  in  that  war. — ^Ec.  viii :  8. 

HERE  is  a  great  fortress  and  line  of  siege  com- 
manding every  homestead  and  every  individual. 
The  pointed  musketry  in  this  line  each  one  must  face, 
and  to  which  all  are  walking  in  one  inevitable  proces- 
sion. You  fall  here,  I  fall  there.  The  rattling 
hail  of  death  is  every  instant  falling.  You  too  must 
die.     "It  is  appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die." 

I.  This  battle  is  an  appointment.  It  is  made  by  an 
All-knowing  One  of  whom  there  is  no  cheating— an 
Omnipotent  One,  whom  there  is  no  shunning — an 
Almighty  one,  whom  there  is  no  resisting.     No  craft, 


Mti)DLE    AGS!.  2^3 

force,  tears,  outcries,  or  affection  can  baffle  the  stroke. 
No  gold  or  empire  can  purchase  exemption.  To-day  the 
capitalist  wields  his  lai'ge  fortune,  to-morrow  the  grim 
destroyer  hands  it  over  to  greedy  heirs.  To-day  the 
king  rules  his  myriads  of  subjects,  to-morrow,  to-mor- 
roiu  death  has  tossed  the  sceptre  in  another's  hand. 
None  pillages  like  death.  His  victories  ^' carry  nothing 
away,"  None  haunts  like  death.  He  never  loses  his 
scent  or  misses  his  game.  None  aims  like  death  with  a 
shaft  that  always  strikes.  There  is  no  flying,  no  bribing, 
no  pledging,  no  reasoning,  no  treating  with  the  enemy. 
'^  There  is  no  discharge,  &c." 

II.  The  results  of  this  battle  are  final.  If  death 
takes  away  the  soul  without  Christ  it  is  lost.  But  will 
God  permit  this  ?  Why  not,  if  God  has  explicitly 
warned  that  ^'^the  wicked  is  driven  away  in  his  wicked- 
ness?" Why  not,  if  ^'wickedness  cannot  deliver  those 
who  given  to  it  ?"  Why  not,  if  unpreparedness  is  the 
individual's  own  fault  ?  Why  should  not  the  results  be 
final,  if  you  have  been  familiar  with  the  Gospel — lived 
in  a  land  of  Bibles  and  Sabbaths — had  warnings  of 
Providence  and  strivings  of  the  Spirit  ?  What  show  of 
reason  is  there  in  your  pleading  a  discharge  from  the 
war,  when  every  cemetery,  tolling  bell,  passing  hearse, 
ache  and  ailment  v/arned  you  that  this  battle  was  ap- 
proaching and  would  be  fatal  ?  Life  was  given  you  to 
know  God.  He  has  revealed  Himself  that  you  might 
know  Him.  Why  have  you  forborne  to  know  the 
Saviour,  to  acknowledge  his  claim,  to  wear  his  blessed 
livery,  and  to  give  the  heart  he  asked  ?  Why  cling  to 
sins  and  idols,  reject  the  love,  peace,  and  heaven,  he 
proffered  freely,  sincerely,  often,  now,  but  as  yet,  in 
vain  ? 

It  is  a  terrible  lot,  to  go  down  from  a  land  of  light 
and  revivals,  unprepared  and  unforgiven  to  eternal  sor- 


224  MEMORIAL     TRIDUT^S. 

row.  But  that  fearful  prospect  will  not  induce  the  pale 
King  of  Terrors  to  give  a  discharge.  "If  you  are  not 
prepared/'  he  might  exclaim,  '^  after  all  this,  when  would 
you  be  ?  Come  Avith  me  then  as  you  are.  Here  is  my 
warrant  both  for  body  and  soul." 

III.  This  battle  may  end  in  victory.  In  the  day  of 
opportunity  and  repentance  there  is  proclaimed  One 
mightier  than  death  or  hell.  He  is  the  Prince  of  Life 
and  Lord  of  Glory.  He  came  to  destroy  him  that  had 
the  power  of  death.  He  in  bringing  rescue  tasted  of 
death,  yea  not  only  met  the  common  lot,  but  bore  on 
himself  the  common  and  concentrated  guilt  of  our  race. 
Doing  this  he  tore  the  sting  from  death  and  to  them 
that  believe.  He  is  become  the  author  of  life,  everlasting 
life. 

To  them  that  receive  Christ,  the  war  though  fierce 
has  lost  its  main  terror  and  is  stripped  of  its  perils, 
mortality  loses  its  ghastliness  and  puts  on  hopefulness 
and  promise.  The  grave  is  like  the  wet,  cold  March 
day,  behind  whose  gloom  lie  the  treasures  of  bursting 
spring  and  the  glories  of  refulgent  summer.  The  light 
afflictions  are  but  for  a  moment,  &c.  Death  to  the  saint 
changes  many  of  its  offices.  If  pain  walks  at  his  side. 
He  is  iilso  the  queller  of  strife  and  the  calmer  of  care. 
No  more  throbs  or  sighs,  but  rest.  He  is  in  one  sense 
the  Destroyer,  but  in  another  the  Restorer.  He  brings 
back,  through  Christ's  victorious  grave,  the  lost  innocence 
and  peace  of  Eden.  He  divides  the  nearest  ties,  but  also 
re-unites  to  those  who  sleep  in  Jesus.  He  is  the  curse 
of  the  law,  but  through  the  blessed  one,  who  magnified 
and  satisfied  the  hiAv,  he  becomes  to  tlie  believer  in  Jesus, 
the  end  of  sin,  the  gate  of  Paradise,  and  the  recompense 
of  a  new,  a  better  and  an  unending  life. 


MIDDLE    AQE,  }i25 


DEIJVERANOE   FROM   THE   FEAR  OF  DEATH. 

REV.    DANIEL   MOORE. 

AticL  deliver  tlieni  who  through  fear  of  death   were  all  their  lifetime 
subject  tobondage. — Heb.  ii:  15. 

/CHRISTIANITY  teaches  us  how  to  withstand  our 
^^  spiritual  adversaries  in  life  and  to  triumph  over 
them  in  death.  All  its  doctrines  set  forth  the  defeat  of 
the  last  enemy.  All  its  moral  discipline  tends  to  pre- 
pare us  for  its  approach.  All  its  promises  have  respect 
to  the  relief  and  deliverance  of  '^  them  who  through  fear 
of  death/'  etc. 

I.  The  causes  that  make  the  prospect  of  death  a  source 
of  apprehension. 

1.  The  instinctive  dread  we  all  have  of  the  act  of 
dissolution  itself.  This  feeling  is  universal— caused  by 
the  natural  recoil  of  flesh  and  blood  from  being  resolved 
into  their  primal  elements,  from  the  superstitions  con- 
nected with  death — from  the  thoughts  of  the  last  fare- 
well— of  the  sights  that  shall  greet  them  and  the  hand 
that  shall  lay  hold  of  them  first,  after  crossing  the  in- 
visible borders. 

2.  The  physical  accompaniments  of  approaching 
death.  We  are  afraid  of  our  supports  failing  us  in  that 
moment  of  moments.  Afraid  of  Satan  making  that  his 
chosen  hour  for  attacking  us. 

3.  We  are  afraid  of  the  moral  origin  of  death.  Death 
we  know  is  a  retribution  or  penal  thing.  Conscience  is 
affrighted  at  the  penalties  it  feels  to  deserve.  It  is  an 
effect  and  puni.^^liment  upon  transgression.  It  is  the  im- 
pliinted  feeling  «)f  our  nature,  that  death  is  the  oom- 
niissioned  magistrate  of  heaven  come  to  reckon  with  us 

10* 


S26  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

for  our  sins  that  makes  bis  presence  gloomy,  liis  sting 
formidable,  and  his  night  dark. 

II.  Considerations  calculated  to  alleviate  this  great 
fear  of  our  nature. 

1.  The  first  alleviation  is  derived,  according  to  the 
apostle,  from  the  incarnation  and  death  of  Christ.  Heb. 
2,  14,  16,  9. 

The  incarnation  and  death  of  Christ  were,  we  see,  in- 
dispensable to  Christ's  mediation.  Justice  required  that 
the  offending  nature  and  the  atoning  nature  ^'should  be 
all  of  one,"  if  He  would  taste  our  cup,  destroy  our 
foe,  dissipate  our  fears  and  loose  our  bonds.  He  must 
die — die  as  an  atonement  for  sin  which  was  death's  sting, 
and  thus  magnify  the  law  which  was  his  strength  and 
plea.  Christ  satisfied  the  law — obeyed  its  precepts,  sat- 
isfied its  demand,  and  ^^now  there  is  no  condemnation," 
etc. 

2.  Another  alleviation  is  found  in  Christ's  absolute 
and  boundless  control  over  all  the  issues  of  life  and  death. 

Christ  orders  the  time  of  our  departure  ;  disposes  all 
the  circumstances  of  our  death;,  and  guides  the  spirit  in 
its  flight.  He  holds  the  keys.  The  departure  of  our 
immortal  spirit  from  one  world  to  another,  is  under  his 
own  control.  He  determines  the  hour,  opens  the  gate, 
stands  sentinel  at  the  bridge,  and  says,  as  it  \Vere, 
''  Father,  the  hour  is  come." 

3.  Another  alleviation  is  that  Ciirist  introduces  us 
into  the  immediate  presence  of  Christ.  He  stands  at  the 
opposite  shore  of  the  river  of  death  to  receive  us,  con- 
ducts us  through  the  realms  of  the  unseen  world  and  in- 
troduces us  to  his  Father's  house.  The  dying  spirit  can- 
not vanish  i-nto  a  world  where  Christ  is  not.  It  is  with 
Him. 

III.  To  get  the  comfort  of  these  considerations  we 
must  exercise  a  lively  faith  in  Christ.     This  is  the  life  of 


MIDDLE    AGE.  22? 

l-eligioii — we  must  interpose  its  ample  shield  before  all 
the  assaults  of  the  enemy.  Faith  should  especially  fix  on 
that  spiiitual  alliance  which  exists  between  Christ  and 
his  people.  They  are  one.  No  condemnation  in  Him. 
Fall  asleep  in  Him. 

2.  We  must  diligently  cultivate  all  those  tempers  and 
dispositions  that  belong  to  a  godly  life.  The  fear  of 
death  was  meant  to  be  a  salutary  fear.  It  was  meant  as 
a  motive  to  live  godly — for  only  in  that  way  can  we  ex- 
pect to  have  death's  fear  taken  away. 

3.  We  must  guard  against  spiritual  declension  and 
decay.  Relapses  into  sin,  grievingsof  the  spirit,  coldness 
of  love,  etc.,  these  serve  to  intensify  the  natural  fear  of 
death  and  hold  us  in  bondage. 

4.  We  must  be  much  in  prepar-ation  for  our  great 
change.  Live  in  habitual  view  and  contemplation  of  an 
unseen  existence.  We  should  get  familiar  with  argu- 
ments to  be  used  on  a  sudden  emergency.  Paul's  dying 
fortitude  rested  on  the  strength  of  past  successes.  Satan 
dreads  trophies  more  than  weapons. 

5.  Keep  in  full  view  the  fulfillment  of  those  immor- 
tal hopes  which  lie  beyond  the  grave.  ^'  Go  thy  way  till 
the  end  be,  etc.,"  and  they  are  permitted  to  hear  *^  a 
loud  voice  saying  in  heaven/'  etc.     Rev.  12,  10. 


THE  BELIEVER'S  FAREWELL  WORDS. 

JOHN-  HALL,  D.D.  KEW  YORK. 

Idie:  and  God  will  surely  visit  you. — Gen.  50:  24. 

TOSEPH    closed  his  nearly  blameless  life   with   this 

communication  to  the  band  of  brothers.      Joseph 

shared  the  hope  of  his   fathers  ;    counted   confidently 

upon   Canaan   being  given   to  the  race,  and   exacted    a 


228  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

pledge  from  his  brethren  that  his  bones  should  accompany 
those  who  went  to  take  possession. 

The  last  words  of  eminent  men  have  a  universal 
interest;  nnd  pass  from  lip  to  lip  among  Christians. 
Such  words  have  a  peculiar  charm,  and  have  a  special 
significance.  Earth  is  less  potent,  many  impressions  are 
rectitied.  The  common  interests  of  life  seem  trifling. 
The  most  momentous  interests  of  their  cases  are  brought 
out,  and  d}ing,  say  with  Josejih,  '^  I  die,  i&c."     Notice: 

I.  The  two-fold  effect  of  death. 

1.  It  separates  believers  from  their  friends.  The 
body  remains  with  them.  But  they  go  away.  It  is  but 
the  envelope  torn  open,  the  letter  is  elsewhere.  The  body 
did  not  constitute  the  person.  Between  us  and  the  real 
life  a  great  gulf  is  fixed,  impassable  to  us  while  we  are  in 
the  body.  We  cannot  reach  them  with  our  endearments 
or  services,  nor  can  we  receive  from  them  any  more. 

2.  Death  reunites  believers  to  those  loho  have  gone  be- 
fore them.  They  have  compensation  for  the  painof  parting. 
This  is  soon  swallowed  up  in  the  joy  of  re-union.  The 
mother  will  meet  her  babes.  Joseph  never  more  be 
parted  from  his  father,  &c.  This  is  not  unworthy  of 
our  notice.  The  grave  has  to  many  an  aspect  of  awful 
solitude.  But  our  friends  are  not  there,  but  gone  to 
join  "'  the  spirits  of  the  just  made,  &c."  They  are  parted 
from  us,  but  how  dear,  noble  and  numerous  is  the  com- 
pany into  which  they  have  entered  ! 

II.  The  two-fold  assurance  of  a  dying  believer. 

1.  ''Idie,'^  said  Joseph.  That  is  felt  to  be  sure  to  every 
believer.  The  word  had  all  along  reminded  him  of  this, 
life-long  observation  confirmed  the  intimation,  every  power 
of  body  emphasized  the  notice.  The  sense  of  decaying 
power,  perchance  the  agony  endured,  the  sensible  decline 
of  all  the  powers,  assure  the  believer  that  the  end  is 
near. 


MIDDLE    AGE.  239 

2.  Tlie  assurance  respecting  the  believers  ivlio  remain 
behind.  ''The  Lord  will  visit  you."  In  Joseph's  case 
there  was  an  explicit  promise  from  the  Lord.  But  is  there 
not  a  promise  in  the  Bible  somewhere,  for  all  believers, 
in  all  conditions  ?  '^  I  die,  but  God  will  surely  visit," 
a  departing  husband  may  say  to  his  wife,  for  ''I 
die,  &c.;"  a  father  may  say  to  his  children  for,  &c.; 
a  minister  may  say  to  his  congregation,  for,  &c., 
"I  am  with  you  always,"  &c.  And  so  in  all  the 
varying  conditi  )ns  of  saints.  God  is  in  them  all  a 
*'  very  present  help."  Faith  enables  one  to  give  this 
assurance.  What  is  faith  ?  Joseph's  case  may  instruct 
us.  He  merely  believed  what  God  said— a  definite  word 
of  the  Lord.  Joseph  had  his  eye  on  the  promise  of  the 
Lord.  Believers  have  their  xDroniised  land,  the  land  of  re- 
union, of  peace,  the  happy  land,  the  land  of  uprightness. 

TIL  Departing  believers  have  a  double  claim  on  sur- 
viving friends. 

1.  They  are  entitled  to  continued  affection.  They  do 
not  cease  to  be  ours.  They  are  now  more  worthy  of  love 
than  ever  they  were  before.  Their  bodies  will  ''  make  a 
group  of  bonuie  dust,"  as  Halyburton  puts  it— when 
showing  how  Christ  keeps  even  the  bodies  of  his  people. 

2.  They  have  a  right  to  grateful  remembrance.  The 
dear  memorial,  the  unostentatious  monument,  the  be- 
fitting memoir  in  notable  cases— are  as  they  ought  to  be. 
''The  righteous  shall  be  held  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance." 

3.  We  owe  them  imitation.  It  is  the  sweetest  tribute. 
It  is  the  most  fitting  homage  we  can  bring  them.  We 
should  put  on  their  armor  and  take  their  places  among 
the  Lord's  sacramental  host. 

4.  Joseph  exacted  a  pledge  from  his  brethren,  viz., 
that  they  slioiild  bear  a\vay  his  bones  to  the  sacred  soil ! 
It  was   to  show  In^   niitji,    and    keep  alive  the  liopc 


230  MrMOIUAL     TRIBUTES. 

among  the  Hebvow  seed.     And  tliere  are  promises  that 
the   dying   may   claim  from  us.     Are   there   not  some 
among  us  who  have  pledged.       Have  you  redeemed  it  ? 
Are  your  eyes  and  steps  heavenward  ? 
Only  two  things  remain  to  be  said. 

1.  All  shall  die.  Your  friends — beloved  ones — your 
idols  shall  die.  To  whom  will  you  then  look  ?  You 
shall  die.  Have  you  comfort  in  Christ  ?  Can  you  give 
comfort  to  others  ? 

2.  Believer,  there  is  ''one''  never  dies.  He  liveth  for 
ever  m.ore,  hath  the  keys,  &c.  He  is  a  stay  and  support 
to  his  peoplf),  &c.  He  is  at  the  right  of  the  throne, 
^'  standing/^  \}^Q'dVi^Q  active  in  their  behalf,  &c.  Waits 
to  receive  p.n  I  welcome  them,  and  in  Him  and  with  Him 
^hey  live  Cor  evermore. 


THE    DEATHDAY    BETTER    THAN    THE 
BIRTHDAY. 

REV.  C.  H.  SPURGEOif. 

i  good  name  is  better  than  precious  ointment,  and  the  day  of  death 

than  the  day  of  one's  Urth.     Eccles.  vii:  1. 

T^HE  latter  portion  of  this  verse  is  true  only  of  those 
who  have  a  good  name — a  name  written  on  the 
Lamb's  Book  of  Life — written  on  the  very  heart  of  Jesus 
as  the  names  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  of  old  were  inscribed 
on  the  High  Priest's  breast-plate,  written  on  the  23alms 
of  Jesus'  hands  ;  those  have  a  good  character  and  are 
known  by  the  sweet  savor  of  their  lives.  Of  these  our 
text  is  true,  for  : 

I.  Better  is  the  end  of  a  thing  than  the  beginning 
thereof.      "  Welcome,  little  stranger,"  is  the  greeting  at 


MIDDLE    AGE.  231 

birth — welcome  to  what  ?  It  may  be  to  poverty  and  an 
unholy  honie.  to  a  troop  of  infantile  diseases^  to  pains 
from  within^  and  probably  to  neglect  from  without. 

The  believer's  deathday — the  time  of  triumph  and 
victory,  is  better  than  this.  Birth  is  the  beginning  of  a 
journey  ;  death  is  the  ending  of  the  weary  march  to  our 
Father's  iiou^-ic  above.  Agaiu^  about  the  birthday  hangs 
an  uncertainty.  Children  are  blessings,  but  vre  cannot 
tell  what  will  become  of  them  when  they  grow  up  and 
come  under  the  influence  of  evil — they  may  be  useful 
and  honorable,  or  dissolute  and  degraded.  But  every- 
thing is  certain  about  the  saint's  deathday.  When  a 
child  is  born  v/e  know  he  is  born  to  sorrow,  but  when  a 
saint  dies,  we  know  he  is  done  with  sorrow  and  pain. 
Write,  therefore,  the  death-date  above  the  life-date  on  the 
headstone. 

II.  The  believer's  deathday  is  better  than  all  his 
happy  days.  What  are  his  happy  days  ?  Tlic  day  of  his 
coming  of  age — ^.he  is  a  man,  and  an  estate  may  be  com- 
ing to  him.  This  is  a  day  of  great  festivity — all  around 
may  be  called  to  rejoice  with  him.  But  on  the  deatj- 
day  of  a  believer,  he  comes  of  age  and  enters  upon  his 
heavenly  estate.  What  a  jubilee  that  will  be.  The  day 
of  his  marriage.  Who  does  not  rejoice,  what  cold  heart 
does  not  beat  with  joy  on  that  day  ?  But  on  the  death- 
day  we  shall  move  fully  into  the  joy  of  our  Lord,  into  that 
blessed  marriage  union  wliich  is  established  between  Him 
and  us,  into  that  guest  chamber  where  the  feast  will  be 
si)read,  and  we  shall  await  the  Marriage  Supper  of  the 
Lamb.  Day  of  gain.  When  some  sudden  windfall  en- 
larges their  capital,  or  multiplies  the  profit.  But  there 
is  no  gain  like  that  of  departure  to  the  Father  from  a 
world  of  trouble  to  a  land  of  triumph.  A  day  of  honor 
— when  promoted  in  office,  or  receiving  the  api)lause  of 
men.     But  what  a  day  of  honor  to  be  carried  bv  angeU 


232  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

into  Abraham's  bosom — heirs  of  God,  joint  heirs  with 
Christ.  Days  of  health  are  happy  days.  But  what  health 
can  equal  the  perfect  wholeness  of  a  spirit  upon  whom 
the  Physician  has  displayed  his  utmost  skill — clean,  re- 
covered, and  where  the  inhabitant  shall  no  more  say,  '^  I 
am  sick."  Happy  days  of  social  friendship,  when  hearts 
warm  with  hallowed  intercourse  with  a  friend,  or  in  the 
midst  of  one's  family.  But  no  day  of  social  enjoyment 
can  match  the  day  of  death.  What  t.oops  of  blessed 
ones  shall  meet  us  !  What  priceless  friends  over  yonder  ! 
What  family  gi'eetings  there  will  be  !  Oh,  the  bliss  of 
meeting  with  the  Lord  !  Those  who  are  truly  related 
to  us  in  the  bonds  of  everlasting  life  shall  be  there. 
Natural  kinship  has  ended,  spiritual  relationship  lasts 
and  survives. 

III.  Better  than  his  holy  days.  The  day  of  conver- 
sion. Never  to  be  forgotten  wlien  the  heart  began  to 
beat  with  spiritual  life,  and  the  hand  grasped  the  Lord, 
and  the  eyes  saw  his  beauty.  But  what  will  it  be  to  see 
him  face  to  face  ?  The  Sallath  day.  Precious  and  dear 
are  the  Lord^s  days — sweet  rests  of  love — blessed  days. 
But  death  gives  us  an  eternal  Sabbath,  ''where  congre- 
gation, &c."  Communion  days.  How  sweet  to  sit  at 
the  Lord's  table  with  his  memorial  in  hand,  and  to  think 
of  what  He  has  done,  is  doing,  and  has  promised.  What 
is  that  to  communing  with  Him  in  Paradise.  Bless  the 
Lord  for  every  one  of  the  happy  days — but  heaven's  days 
will  be  better.  There  we  shall  know  each  other  better — 
more  delight,  in  magnifying  the  name  of  Jesus.  Our 
company  shall  be  better — perfect  company,  and  we  shall 
then  be  at  home. 

IV.  Better  than  the  whole  of  his  days  put  together. 
All  his  days  here  are  dying  days.  Death  is  the  end  of 
dying.  Life  is  conflict — death  is  victory.  Life  is  full  of 
gorrow;  death  onds  that,  Lite  is  longing,  death  possessing. 


MIDDLE    AQE.  233 

It  will  be  the  day  of  our  cure.  We  shall  carry  diseases  till 
the  last  Physician  couies,  but  his  touch  cures  all.  Death 
will  be  the  cure  of  old  age.  Then  renew  youth  like  the 
eagles.  Death  will  be  the  loss  of  all  losses.  Death,  the 
last  enemy,  is  the  death  of  every  enemy.  It  is  the  begin- 
ning of  our  best  days.  The  dawning  of  heaven's  days  is 
often  delightful  to  the  dying.  Words  of  Avondrous  im- 
port are  often  spoken  by  dying  ones — it  was  the  bliss  of 
dying.  Beginning  the  day  on  eartli,  closing  it  with  loved 
ones,  angels,  and  Grod  in  heaven.  Oh !  the  eventide  of 
that  day  !  and  that  day  without  end  ! 

Only  mind  you  do  not  miss  the  way  to  get  there. 
Turn  to  the  right,  by  the  Cross,  and  keep  straight  on. 


A  KOYAL  ALARMIST. 

REV.  B.  W.  WILLIAMS. 

The  King  of  Terrors. — Job  xviii :  14. 

T^HIS  is  Bildad's  description  of  death.     This  assertion 

of  the  Shuhite  is  : 
I.  A  fact.  Death  is  a  king.  Death  simply  in  itself 
is  no  more  than  a  cessation  of  life  or  a  termination  of 
being  in  a  certain  mode  of  existence.  But  it  has  been 
the  universal  custom  of  mankind  to  personify  it ;  and 
the  sacred  writers,  accommodating  themselves  to  the  lan- 
guage and  apprehension  of  mortals,  represent  principles 
and  feelings  under  sensible  forms  and  as  real  characters. 
Thus  in  apostolic  phrase  ''Death  reigns."  And  while 
he  reigns  as  a  king,  he  enslaves  as  a  tyrant.  Where  on 
earth  shall  we  find  an  empire  so  ancient,  with  subjects 
so  numerous,  a  vassalage  so  abject,  and  a  territory  so 
large  ?  Why  all  this  ?  Though  by  the  original  sin  of 
nur  first  parents,   death  gained  a  being  and  usurped  a 


224  MEMORIAL     fRIl)tJT^8. 

row.  But  that  fearful  prospect  will  not  induce  the  pale 
King  of  Terrors  to  give  a  discharge.  ^'If  you  are  not 
prepared,"  he  might  exclaim,  *' after  all  this,  when  would 
you  be  ?  Come  with  me  then  as  you  are.  Here  is  my 
warrant  both  for  body  and  soul." 

III.  This  battle  may  end  in  victory.  In  the  day  of 
opportunity  and  rej)entance  there  is  proclaimed  One 
mightier  than  death  or  hell.  He  is  the  Prince  of  Life 
and  Lord  of  Glory.  He  came  to  destroy  him  that  had 
the  power  of  death.  He  in  bringing  rescue  tasted  of 
death,  yea  not  only  met  the  common  lot,  but  bore  on 
himself  the  common  and  concentrated  guilt  of  our  race. 
Doing  this  he  tore  the  sting  from  death  and  to  them 
that  believe.  He  is  become  the  author  of  life,  everlasting 
life. 

To  them  that  receive  Christ,  the  war  though  tierce 
has  lost  its  main  terror  and  is  stripped  of  its  perils, 
mortality  loses  its  ghastliness  and  puts  on  hopefulness 
and  promise.  The  grave  is  like  the  wet,  cold  March 
day,  behind  whose  gloom  lie  the  treasures  of  bursting 
spring  and  the  glories  of  refulgent  summer.  The  light 
afflictions  are  but  for  a  moment,  &c.  Death  to  the  saint 
changes  many  of  its  offices.  If  pain  walks  at  his  side, 
He  is  also  the  queller  of  strife  and  the  calmer  of  care. 
No  more  throbs  or  sighs,  but  rest.  He  is  in  one  sense 
the  Destro^^er,  but  in  another  the  Restorer.  He  brings 
back,  through  Christ's  victorious  grave,  the  lost  innocence 
and  peace  of  Eden,  He  divides  the  nearest  ties,  but  also 
re-unites  to  those  who  sleep  in  Jesus.  He  is  the  curse 
of  the  law,  but  through  the  blessed  one,  who  magnified 
and  satisfied  the  law,  he  becomes  to  the  believer  in  Jesus, 
the  end  of  sin,  the  gate  of  Paradise,  and  the  recompense 
of  a  new,  a  better  and  an  unending  life. 


MIDDLE    AQE.  226 


DELIVEEANCE   FROM   THE   FEAR  OF  DEATH. 

REV.    DA]N"IEL   MOORE. 

And  deliver  tJiem  who  through  fear  of  death   were  all  tJieir  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage. — Heb.  ii:  15. 

/CHRISTIANITY  teaches  us  how  to  withstand  our 
^^  spiritual  adversaries  in  life  and  to  triumph  over 
them  in  death.  All  its  doctrines  set  forth  the  defeat  of 
the  last  enemy.  All  its  moral  discipline  tends  to  pre- 
pare us  for  its  approach.  All  its  promises  have  respect 
to  the  relief  and  deliverance  of  '^  them  who  through  fear 
of  death,"  etc. 

I.  The  causes  that  make  the  prospect  of  death  a  source 
of  apprehension. 

1.  The  instinctive  dread  we  all  have  of  the  act  of 
dissolution  itself.  This  feeling  is  universal — caused  by 
the  natural  recoil  of  flesh  and  blood  from  being  resolved 
into  their  primal  elements,  from  the  superstitions  con- 
nected with  death — from  the  thoughts  of  the  last  fare- 
well— of  the  sights  that  shall  greet  them  and  the  hand 
that  shall  lay  hold  of  them  first,  after  crossing  the  in- 
visible borders. 

2.  The  physical  accompaniments  of  approaching 
death.  We  are  afraid  of  our  supports  failing  us  in  that 
moment  of  moments.  Afraid  of  Satan  making  that  his 
chosen  hour  for  attacking  us. 

3.  We  are  afraid  of  the  moral  origin  of  death.  Death 
we  know  is  a  retribution  or  penal  thing.  Conscience  is 
affrighted  at  the  penalties  it  feels  to  deserve.  It  is  an 
effect  and  punishment  upon  transgression.  It  is  the  im- 
planted feeling  of  our  nature,  that  death  is  the  com- 
missioned magistrate  of  heaven  come  to  reckon  with  us 

10* 


2J6  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

troubled   conscience  rest,    resolve  its  gloomy  doubts  or 
chase  away  its  guilty  fears. 

We  cannot  express  the  danger  of  those  who  neglect 
the  great  salvation,  and  we  cannot  exceed  the  description 
which  Scripture  gives  of  the  terror  of  death  to  such. 


N 


HUMANITY^S  EMBLEM. 

WILLIAM   LANDELS,    D.D.,  EDIKBUBGH. 
We  all  do  fade  as  a  leaf. — Isa.  Ixiv  :  6. 

ATURE  is  an  emblem  of  life  ;  a  pictorial  illustration 
of  truth.  Revelation  has  truths,  nature  does  not 
teach,  but  she  does  not  disdain  to  notice  those  of  nature, 
points  men  to  them  and  employs  them  f.)r  the  purpose  of 
illustrating  her  own  higher  message.  Thus  the  Bible 
uses  the  seasons,  as  in  our  text.  "  We  all  do  fade  as  a 
leaf.^^ 

I.  The  text  asserts  the  fact  —  we  all  must  die. 
It  is  the  doom  of  man,  like  the  leaf,  to  wither  and 
decay  and  mingle  with  the  dust  of  earth.  All  the  gen- 
erations of  men  since  Adam  have  died — only  two  were 
translated  to  give  an  intimation  of  another  life  beyond 
the  grave.  The  grave  has  already  received  men  of  all 
ranks,  conditions  and  ages.  The  decree  still  remains. 
The  grave  has  not  yet  said,  ''It  is  enough."  There  is 
room  stiJl  for  the  living  in  that  "narrow  house  "  of  the 
dead.  Room  for  each  of  us.  Yet  the  great  majority  of 
men  practically  forget  it.  This  is -sadder  than  the  fact 
that  all  must  die.  '•'  Of  men's  miraculous  mistakes  this 
bears  the  palm  ;  all  men  think  all  men  mortal  but  them- 
selves."' Unlike  the  leaves,  men  drop  away  at  all  seasons, 
one  after  another — this  in  part  accounts  for  man's  for- 
getfulness  of  his  mortality.     It  might   be  in  some  re- 


selects  different  with  him,  if  like  the  leaf,  he  witnessed 
the  inhabitants  of  a  nation  swept  away  in  a  few  months. 
But  sin  practices  the  deception,  and  tends  to  eradicate 
impressions  of  the  solemnity  of  death  and  the  certainty 
of  dissolution  as  expressed  in  the  text,  ^"^We  all 
fade,  &c/' 

II.  The  truth  of  the  text  should  influence  the  mind. 
1.  By  leading  to  preparation  for  death.  If  the  leaf 
be  an  emblem  of  our  brief  lifg,  if  the  sentence  is  irrevoc- 
able and  unavoidable,  "Dust  thou  art,  &c.,"  if  it  is  "  ap- 
pointed unto  man,  &c.,"  we  know  it ;  it  is  nothing  less 
than  guilty  infatuation,  if  we  neglect  to  prepare  for  the 
solemn  event.  Moreover,  if  the  time  of  our  duration  is 
still  more  uncertain  than  that  of  the  leaf — if  while  the 
leaves  have  their  times  to  fall,  "death  has  all  seasons  for 
his  OAvn^^ — in  doing  the  work  which  is  necessary  to  our 
dying  peace  not  a  moment  should  be  lost.  "Die  tlie 
death  of  the  righteous/" 

2.  The  truth  that  "  we  all  do  fade  as  a  leaf,"  should 
lead  us  to  moderate  our  ambition. 

Men  are  generally  anxious  to  acquire  wealth,  to  attain 
to  eminence  and  to  gain  the  esteem  and  applause  of  their 
neighbors.  And  the  feeling  is  not  .sinful  except  when 
cherished  in  excess,  so  as  to  interfere  with  the  influences 
of  higher  motives  and  to  prevent  the  pursuit  of  a  higher 
good.  But  the  meanest  work  performed  with  a  single 
eye  to  God's  glory,  will  be  of  far  more  value  than  all  the 
labors  of  a  life,  which  has  wealtli  or  honor  or  rank  for 
its  end.     What  is  Byron  the  better  for  having 

*'  Drauk  every  cup  of  joy,  heard  every  trump 

Of  fame  ;  drank  early,  deeply  drank,  drank  draughts 
Which  common  millions  have  quenched,  then  died, 
Of  thirst,  because  there  was  no  more  to  drink  V 


238  MEMORTAL     TRIBUTES. 

3.  This  truth  should  lead  us  to  set  our  affections  on 
heavenly  things. 

These  things  of  earth  must  soon  be  left :  friends,  home, 
property,  then  prepare  for  and  welcome  the  intimation 
that  you  can  have  an  "inheritance  incorruptible,  &c/^ 
Thank  God  there  is  a  land  where  there  is  no  seared  leaf 
or  tottering  frame,  where  age  writes  no  wrinkles  on  the 
brow,  no  grey  hairs  exist  to  tell  that  the  summer  of  life 
is  past,  where  there  are  no  violent  separations,  no  death, 
no  sorrow,  no  pain.  The  bowers  of  paradise  are  always 
green,  its  sky  always  bright,  its  season  is  always  summer. 
He  who  receives  the  crown  of  glory  will  never  lay  it 
down,  except  in  adoration  at  the  feet  of  Him  who  sits 
upon  the  throne.  The  employment  of  heaven  will  never 
weary  him  ;  its  song  will  be  always  new.  The  triumphal 
palm  will  never  wither  in  his  hand,  the  golden  harp  will 
never  be  out  of  tune.  Nothing  will  ever  choke  or  nar- 
row that  fountain  whence  life  leaps  in  fullness,  or 
stagnate  that  still  expanse  where  the  Good  Shepherd 
leads  his  flock  at  glory's  noon.  This  inheritance  may  be 
yours  by  faith  in  Christ  and  a  life  of  holy  obedience,  and 
there  your  "  leaf  shall  not  wither." 


THE  HAPPY  MOURNERS. 

ALEXAI^DEE   DICKSOif,   D.D. 

They  departed  quicldyfrom  the  sepulcher  with  fear  and  great  joy,  <&c. 
jNIatt.  xxviii  :  8. 

n^HE  grave  is  generally  regarded  as  a  gloomy  place — 
-^  peculiarly  consecrated  to  grief.  We  go  there  in 
silence  and  slowly.  The  service  at  the  grave  is  more 
solemn  than  any  other,  and  with  sadness  in  our  hearts 
and  on  our  countenances,  we  take  the  last  long  look  at 


MIDDLE    AGE.  230 

tiie  place  where  the  loved  one  is  laid,  and  turn  away 
weeping  such  tears  as  only  the  soul  can  shed. 

The  text  tells  us  of  one  grave  from  which  the 
mourners  went  away  with  ^' great  joy/^  It  was  the 
Saviour's  grave,  and  the  happy  mourners  *'MaryMag- 
delene  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and  Salome." 
They  had  gone  very  early  in  the  morning  of  the  first 
Christian  Sabbath  to  the  sepulcher  to  weep  and  with 
spices  to  embalm  the  dead  body  of  Jesus.  But  they 
found  the  stone  rolled  away  and  angels  there  who  as- 
sured them  that  Jesus  had  risen,  &c.  The  tomb  was 
empty,  and  that  is  the  reason  their  sorrow,  was  turned  in- 
to joy.  Fear  was  mingled  with  their  gladness  as  if  they 
almost  doubted  if  the  news  was  not  too  good  to  be  true. 

These  happy  mourners  are  not  alone  in  their  experi- 
ence. Gather  up  those  crumbs  of  comfort  that  the  Gos- 
pel scatters  around  the  grave  of  those  who  sleep  in  Jesus 
and  they  will  fill  your  heart  with  joy. 

I.  The  Saviour's  empty  sepulcher  is  an  eloquent 
preacher.  Its  language  is  *'  Thy  dead  men  shall  live, 
etc."'  As  the  resurrection  of  Christ  was  predicted,  it 
should  have  been  expected  by  his  friends,  but  it  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  in  all  their  thoughts  ;  so  that  the 
words  of  the  women,  announcing  His  resurrection  seemed 
to  the  apostle  as  ^"  idle  tales,"  and  Jesus  was  obliged  to 
appear  to  them  again  and  again  to  establish  his  identity. 

II.  The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  more  than  a  pledge, 
it  is  also  a  pattern  of  the  resurrection  of  His  people. 
The  same  body  that  was  born  in  Bethlehem  and  died  on 
Calvary,  rose  again.  John  xx  :  •■37.  So  the  same  body 
which  we  now  have  we  shall  have  again  in  the  resurrec- 
tion, when  Christ  shall  ^'change  our  vile  body  and  make 
it  like,''  &c.     1  Thess.  iv  :  13,  14,  18. 

III.  Meanwhile  the  bodies  of  your  beloved  dead  shall 
rest  in  peace.   The  grave  is  not  a  gloomy  prison  house  since 


240  MEMORIAL      THIBUTES. 

Jesus  has  lain  there,  but  a  quiet  habitation,  the  onlyplac6 
of  perfect  rest  in  this  world.  To  the  Saviour  it  was  a 
place  of  sfv^eet  repose,  and  so  it  is  with  the  child  of  God. 
When  he  comes  to  the  grave  his  toils  are  all  ended,  tears 
all  shed  and  troubles  all  past. 

IV.  The  spirits  of  our  departed  Christian  friends  are 
given  to  God.  Just  as  He  was  expiring  on  the  cross  Jesus 
said,  ' '  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  Spirit, 
&c.,"  and  before  his  body  was  laid  in  Joseph's  tomb  His 
soul  was  safe  in  His  Father's  house.  The  same  is  true  of 
every  saint :  before  the  body  is  buried  the  soul  has  reached 
the  realms  of  glory.  Absent  from  the  body  it  is  present 
with  the  Lord.  The  souls  of  believers  at  their  death 
pass  immediately  to  glory. 

V.  We  ought  not  to  think  so  much  of  the  grave  in 
which  the  body  is  laid,  as  of  the  glory  into  which  the  soul 
has  gone. 

It  is  mainly  because  we  are  so  slow  of  heart  to  believe 
all  that  our  Heavenly  Father  has  told  us  concerning  our 
departed  friends,  that  there  is  so  little  sweetness  in  our 
cup  of  bereavement.  We  think  only  of  our  great  loss, 
of  our  desolate  home,  and  the  very  crown  of  life  is 
eclipsed  by  the  coffin  and  the  glory  excelling  grows  dim 
in  the  shadow  of  death.  We  look  too  much  into  our  own 
broken  hearts,  when  we  ought  to  look  up  to  heaven,  at 
the  heart  bounding  there  with  joys  that  may  not  be  ex- 
pressed. If  we  would  look  at  the  heavenward  side  of  the 
sepulcher,  when  the  dear  dead  dust  is  buried  out  of  sight, 
we  would  depart  from  ''the  sepulcher  with  fear  and 
great  joy." 

VI.  When  our  friends  are  gone  our  communion  is  with 
them  still.  All  the  while  the  Saviour's  body  was  in  the 
grave,  and  His  soul  was  in  Heaven,  He  was  doubtless 
thinking  about  His  dear  disciples,  and  we  know  for  cer- 
tain that  they  were  thinking  about  Him.     He  was  in  all 


MIDDLE    A  OB.  241 

their  thoughts  and  on  all  their  tongues,  for  their  com- 
munications were  concerning  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  And 
some  of  them  were  preparing  sweet  spices  for  his  embalm- 
ment. And  blessed  be  his  glorious  name.  He  was  so 
anxious  to  come  and  see  them  personally  and  comfort 
them,  that  He  shortened  the  three  days  of  his  appoint- 
ed sojourn  in  the  grave  into  six  and  thirty  hours.  And 
we  believe  in  the  com^munion  of  saints  in  all  its  length, 
breadth,  height,  and  depth.  ''  We  are  come  unto  Mount 
Zion — and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect." 

VII.  We  shall  join  our  blessed  friends  again  in  the 
celestial  country.  When  the  Saviour  was  departing  with 
His  disciples  they  were  very  sorrowful  and  He  comforted 
them  with  the  sweet  assurance  that  they  should  follow 
Him  in  a  little  while,  John  xiii  :  26,  and  with  the  sweet- 
er assurance  that  He  would  come  after  them,  John  xiv  : 
2,  3.  How  many  pleasant  family  gatherings  there  will 
be  some  day  in  our  Heavenly  Father's  house  of  "  many 
mansions,"  and  when  we  arrive  they  shall  come  out  to 
meet  us  and  greet  us  with  kisses,  and  hail  us  to  our  eternal 
home.  '*Forso  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto 
you  abundantly  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus.^^  If  so,  may  we  not  depart  from 
the  sepulcher  of  our  blessed  dead  with  great  joy  ? 


CONSUMMATE  HAPPINESS. 

AKDKEW   E.    BOiTAR,    D.D. 
**  So  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord." — 1  Thess.  iv:  17. 
''f^HE  Scriptures  not  only  give  us  certain  information 
regarding  the  principles  by  which  the  Divine  gov- 
ernment is  regulated,  the  duties  which  man  is  called  upon 
to  discharge,  and  the  snares  he  must  iivoid,  but  they  also 
11 


m  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

open  np  a  store  of  consolation,  out  of  which  Christians  may 
extract  comfort  in  the  midst  of  disquietude  and  sorrow. 
The  pencil  of  John  sets  before  the  believer  glowing 
pictures  of  the  N"ew  Jerusalem,  exhibitions  of  the  glory 
of  the  Son  of  Man,  fascinating  delineations  of  the  '^tree 
whose  fruits,  &c.,"  of  the  calm  windings  of  the  river  of 
life,  &c.,  of  the  white-robed  woi-shipers  bending  in 
homage  before  Him  whose  love  is  enshrined  in  their 
hearts.     Our  text  brings  before  us  : 

I.  The  certainty  and  perpetuity  of  the  happiness  of 
which  tlie  ransomed  are  to  be  made  partakers. 

Hence  the  felicity  of  heaven  stands  in  vivid  contrast 
with  the  distresses  and  uncertainty  of  earth.  The 
schemes  which  we  cherish  are  liable  to  disappointment — 
the  society  with  which  we  mingle  is  unstable  and  fluctuat- 
ing, the  ideas  we  entertain  are  often  imperfect  and  erro- 
neous— there  are  many  subjects  involved  in  almost  com- 
plete mystery  ;  many  others  with  respect  to  which  we 
arrive  only  at  an  approximation  to  t'he  truth.  But  we  are 
encouraged  to  anticipate  the  arrival  of  a  period  when 
disadvantages  are  to  cease,  and  when  we  shall  enter  into 
a  nobler,  jDurer,  and  more  illustrious  scene. 

Were  man  destined  to  lie  down  for  ever  in  darkness  ; 
did  no  light  gleam  beyond  the  sepulcher,  and  were  no 
prospects  open  of  the  land  that  is  afar,  God  would  not 
have  given  such  aspirations  to  his  creatures  as  those 
which  possess  his  soul.  These  longings — this  cajDacity  it 
has  for  reflecting  upon  the  Infinite  and  Eternal — the 
sagacity  that  lay  plans  and  make  arrangements  for  com- 
ing emergencies,  the  moral  sensibility  which  the  spirit 
is  capable  of  acquiring,  and  tasting  the  goodness  of  the 
Creator,  accord  with  the  voice  of  Scripture,  and  show 
man  to  be  far  more  than  the  short-lived  child  of  earth, 
destined  to  see  corruption  and  to  be  hid  beneath  the 
mould. 


Middle  ao^.  u^ 

Kor  can  we  suppose  that  existing  apparent  anomalies 
in  the  Divine  administration  are  to  be  left  unsolved,  that 
seeming  inequalities  in  the  procedure  of  Providence  are 
to  fail  of  being  rectified,  or  that  the  struggles  with  sense 
and  sin,  with  deformity  and  vice,  the  resolute  victories 
achieved  over  "the  prince  of  this  world,"  by  the  right- 
eous and  lioly  in  all  ages,  are  to  fail  of  the  recompense 
which  Infinite  goodness  desires  to  bestow,  and  which 
Christ  has  secured  by  his  atonement. 

On  this  subject  many  Scripture  statements  might  be 
quoted — but  apart  from  these  there  is  in  the  inner  being 
of  man  a  testimony  borne  regarding  his  immortality, 
and  admonitions  given  whereby  he  is  exhorted  to  rise  to 
the  full  height  of  his  lofty  destiny.  If  so,  how  egre- 
gious is  their  folly  who  act  for  time  alone  and  neglect 
eternity  ?  If  it  is  said  of  Christians  that  they  shall  be 
for  "  ever  with  the  Lord,""  it  is  time  for  all  who  have 
not  given  earnest  heed  to  the  Gospel,  to  awake  out  of 
spiritual  apathy,  and  to  make  provision  for  the  unseen 
state  ;  coveting  a  ^'  Kingdom  which  cannot  be  moved," 
desiring  a  crown  of  righteousness  which  shall  never  fade 
away. 

II.  This  happiness  is  closely  connected  with  the  pres- 
ence and  fellowship  of  Jesus  Christ.  "  So  shall  we  be 
ever  with  the  Lord." 

1.  This  implies  that  believers  after  the  resurrection 
and  the  judgment,  will  be  brought  into  a  position  near 
to  that  which  is  occupied  by  the  Saviour.  TVe  are  war- 
ranted by  the  language  of  Scripture,  to  suppose  that  some 
region  does  exist,  or  will  be  formed,  where  the  faithful 
and  pious  of  all  ages  and  countries  will  be  assembled, 
where  in  the  beautiful  and  expressive  language  of  the 
Apocalypse,  *'  the  Lamb  that  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne 
shall  feed  his  people,  and  shall  lead  them  to  living  foun- 
tains of  waters."     When  earthly  trials  close,  unmingled, 


244  MEMOiilAL     TEinuTJiJS. 

though  relatively  incomplete,  happiness  commences. 
So  soon  as  "  absent  from  the  body/^  the  saints  are  pres- 
ent with  the  Lord.  They  are  ushered  into  the  realm  of 
s]3irits,  wait  in  anticipation  a  further  change — when 
being  raised  they  shall  be  qualified  to  meet  Him  at  his 
coming.  Then  will  be  fulfilled  the  statement  of  our 
text,  and.  that  of  the  Beloved  Disciple.  ^'  To  him  that 
overcome th  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  on  my 
throne.  ^^ 

2.  Christ's  presence  with  the  saints  in  glory  must 
secure  their  exemption  from  all  evil. 

Here,  though  their  lot  is  superior  to  that  of  others, 
yet  they  are  not  exempted  from  the  common  afflictions 
of  humanity — these  make  him  long  to  visit  that  world 
where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  &c.,  where  in- 
firmity will  cease,  the  body  of  sin  and  death  be  laid 
aside,  where  evil  will  be  no  longer  present,  where  no  dark 
cloud  will  gather  to  hinder  the  full  shining  of  the  Son 
of  Eighteousness — where  they  ^'  who  have  washed  their 
robes  and  made  them  white,  &c./'  ^^  shall  hunger  no 
more,  &g." 

3.  Christ's  presence  with  his  saints  constitutes  a 
pledge  that  their  powers  will  be  adopted  to  their  new  con- 
dition, and  that  the  loftiest  sources  of  enjoyment  will  be 
oj^ened  for  their  participation.  These  bodily  and  mental 
capacities  with  which  man  was  originally  endowed  by 
God,  were  grievously  impaired  through  the  entrance  of 
sin  into  the  world.  But  in  that  blessed  world,  the 
spirit  will  be  made  capable  of  wondrous  discoveries  as  to 
the  works  and  ways  of  God,  of  enraptured  contempla- 
tion on  the  plan  of  Providence,  and  out  of  the  riches  of 
His  goodness,  and  the  boundless  treasures  of  his  love,  will 
have  every  desire  satisfied,  and  will  have  fresh  sources  of 
delight  continually  abounding.  How  decided  and  full 
must  the  happiness  of  the  Saint  be,  when  he  has  taken 


MIDDLE    AGE.  245 

2)ossession  of  the  kingdom  prepared  for  him  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  when  he  '^  shall  be  for  ever  Avith 
the  Lord." 


PREPAEATION  FOR  THE  PASSAGE. 

ALEXANDER  DICKSON,  D.D. 

Prepare  your  victuals  ;  for  loithin  three  days  ye  shall  pass  over  this 
Jordan.— J  OSKU  A.  1:   11. 

'T^HIS  was  the  order  given  to  the  children  of  Israel, 
when  they  were  encamped  in  their  land  of  Beuhih, 
before  starting  on  the  last  stage  of  their  long  journey. 
It  was  about  the  middle  of  April.  A  magnificent  scene 
met  the  eye  in  every  direction.  To  the  North  the  great 
plain  of  Esdraelon,  to  the  South  the  hill  country  of 
Judea,  before  them  the  walled  city  of  Jericho,  and  be- 
hind them  Nebo  and  Hor.  Here  they  were  reposing 
when  the  order  came  to  prepare  for  the  passage  of  the 
river,  which  still  rolled  between  them  and  the  home  of 
their  hearts.  The  Hebrews  were  a  typical  people — the 
past  is  repeated  in  the  present.  As  they  had  need  of 
special  preparation  to  pass  over  the  Jordan,  so  we  have 
need  to  make  ready  for  crossing  the  darker,  deeper  and 
more  dangerous  river  of  death. 

I.  How  and  why  should  we  prepare  for  dying  ? 

Our  temporal  affairs  should  be  arranged  beforehand. 
The  victuals  of  the  Israelites  consisted  of  the  manna 
and  also  now  probably  of  the  corn  and  wine  and 
oil  of  the  region  around.  Most  of  these  provisions 
had  need  of  preparation.  Even  the  bread  from 
heaven  did  not  come  down  into  their  tents  all  ready  for 
the  table.  It  had  to  be  prepared.  This  suggests  that 
our  worldly  affairs  should  be  properly  adjusted  against 
the  time  to  die.  These  are  seldom  as  they  ought  to  be 
wlien  the  summons  comes,  and  tliej  often  discompose  and 


246  MEMORIAL     TIUBVTES. 

distress  the  departing  spirit.  But  the  lawyer  is  often 
seen  in  the  darkened  room  and  the  patient^s  trembling 
hand,  signing  important  papers.  Before  such  a  time 
arrives,  the  books  should  be  balanced,  the  debts  paid, 
and  the  wills  written. 

II.  There  should  be  a  personal  interest  in  Christ,  who 
is  the  antidote  of  death.  The  manna  was  typical  of  Him 
who  said,  ^'  I  am  the  bread  of  life."  This  bread  is  soul- 
quickening,  soul-strengthening,  soul-sustaining,  and 
soul-satisfying  food.  It  is  by  faith  alone,  that  we  re- 
ceive and  rest  upon  '^  Jesus  only,"  as  He  is  freely  offered 
to  us  in  the  Gospel.  A  personal  interest  in  Christ  is 
therefore  the  most  important  thing  in  preparing  to  die, 
if  we  would  pass  away  peacefully  and  hopefully.  He 
that  eateth  of  this  bread  shall  live  for  ever,  even  though 
his  body  turn  to  dust. 

III.  We  should  have  a  goodly  number  of  the  pro- 
mises, stored  away  in  our  hearts  and  minds.  The  whole 
Bible  is  like  Him,  who  is  its  author  and  its  subject. 
Jesus  is  the  burden  of  every  book,  the  chief  end  of  every 
chapter,  and  the  substance  of  all  the  shadows.  But  the 
exceeding  great  and  precious  promises  are  the  ^''finest 
of  the  wheat."  They  are  greater  and  more  precious,  than 
we  are  aware  till  the  set  time  comes  for  them  to  manifest 
their  unspeakable  power  and  inestimable  value.  They 
are  the  stone  steps  by  which  Christian  can  pass  safely 
through  the  Slough  of  Despond,  the  key  which  will 
unlock  the  doors  of  Doubting  Castle,  and  the  lamp  whose 
light  illuminates  all  dark  valleys.  Many  of  those  pro- 
mises were  written,  as  it  would  seem,  expressly  for  the 
time  to  die.  ^'  When  thou  passeth  through  the  water, 
I  will  be  with  thee,  &c."  ''Fear  thou  not,  for  I  am  with 
thee,  &c."  These  promises  so  sweet  and  precious 
should  be  committed  to  memory  that  we  may  have  them 
ready  agaiiist  the  great  emergency.       The  eye  may  then 


MIDDLE    AGE.  247 

be  too  dim  to  read  them  and  the  ear  too  dull  to  hear  them, 
but  if  we  have  them  laid  up  in  our  heart  no  tongue  can 
tell  the  greatness  of  their  comforting  and  sustaining 
power. 

VI.  Death  should  be  made  the  subject  of  rauch  medita- 
tion. God  kept  the  Israelites  encamped  in  the  valley  of 
Jordan  for  nearly  a  whole  year,  that  their  thoughts 
might  be  often  on  the  passage  of  that  turbulent  stream 
and  about  the  good  land  beyond  to  which  they  were  go- 
ing. We  are  halted  often  on  the  hither  side  of  Jordan 
for  a  long  time,  that  we  may  liave  time  for  reflection, 
and  a  fitting  opportunity  to  make  the  crossing  the  theme 
of  much  meditation.  Thus  we  become  so  familiar  with 
the  face  of  the  last  enemy  that  he  seems  more  like  a  dear 
friend.  We  are  brought  to  entertain  no  fears  that  faith 
will  fail  or  any  doubts  concerning  the  promise  "''as  thy 
days,  so  shall  thy  strength  be."  Joseph  of  Arimathca 
put  his  sepulcher  in  his  garden,  and  the  frequent  sight 
of  it  helped  to  make  him  the  good  and  just  and  devoted 
Christian  that  he  was. 

But  why  should  we  make  these  necessakt  pke- 
paratioxs  ? 

I.  Because  death  is  sure  to  come.  '^  Ye  shall  pass  over 
this  Jordan."  The  Israelites  might  have  evaded  the  pas- 
sage of  that  stream  there  by  passing  North,  to  its  source  ; 
but  it  was  God's  plan,  that  they  should  cross  the  Jordan 
at  the  time  when,  and  at  the  place  where  it  seemed  to  be 
impassable.  '^He  led  them  forth  by  the  right  way." 
The  universal  appointment  of  death  we  cannot  escape. 
All  paths  terminate  alike  in  the  plain  of  Jordan.  Death  is 
rather  the  debt  of  sin  than  of  nature,  and  every  man  must 
pay  it.     There  is  no  exception,  exemption  or  escape. 

II.  Because  the  time  of  death  is  uncertain.  The 
time  for  the  ancient  people  to  cross  the  Jordan  was  not 
precisely  stated.    ''  Within  three  days  ye  shall  pass  over." 


us  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

They  did  not  know  exactly  when  the  silver  trumpet 
would  sound.  It  might  be  blown  on  the  third,  the  sec- 
ond, or  the  self -same  day  the  order  was  issued.  Nor  can 
we  tell  the  exact  time  of  our  departure.  "  Thou  hast  all 
seasons  for  thine  own,  0  death.^' 

III.  Because  the  last  moment  may  come  soon. 
Though  the  time  for  the  Israelites  to  cross  the  river  was 
uncertain,  still  it  was  not  far  distant.  It  was  ^Mvithin 
three  days.^^  It  might  be  the  same  day  the  command  was 
given  to  prepare,  or  the  next  day,  but  it  could  not  be  fur- 
ther off  than  the  day  following.  So  the  moment  they 
listened  to  the  command  to  prepare,  they  commenced 
their  preparation.  It  would  be  well  for  us  if  we  would 
copy  their  example.  "  Be  ye  also  ready,  &c."  '^  There 
is  a  but  a  step  between  me  and  death,"  and  the  next 
setting  down  of  the  foot  may  be  in  the   chilling  stream. 

IV.  Because  dying  will  be  work  enough,  without 
having  anything  else  to  do.  There  will  be  the  parting 
also  from  dear  friends.  You  cannot  kindle  your  camp- 
fires  in  the  midst  of  Jordan,  and  prejoare  your  food  for 
the  passage.  Prepare  now  by  hiying  hold  of  the  Saviour's 
strength,  and  casting  yourself  entirely  on  Him,  and  He 
will  do  wonders  for  you  in  the  dying  hour.  See  what 
he  did  for  his  own  people  in  Jordan.     Josh,  iii:  17. 


MIDDLE    AGE.  249 

THE  PILGRIM'S  FAITH  AND  END. 

REV.  DANIEL   MOORE,  M.A. 

These  aU  died  in  faith  .    .    .    and  confessed  that  they  were  strangers 
and  2)ilgJ'ims  on  the  earth. — Heb.  xi  :  13. 

A  LL  the  historical  facts  of  the  Jewish  people  were 
"'^  typical,  and  all  the  children  of  faith  under  the 
Old  Testament  had  au  insight  into  the  spiritual  purposes 
of  God.  They  were  willing  to  wander  for  a  season  in  a 
strange  land,  because  they  were  pilgrims  hastening  on- 
ward to  their  eternal  home.  They  learned  to  sit  loosely 
to  their  temporal  privileges,  because  they  were  strangers 
and  pilgrims  on  the  earth.  Let  us  then  view  : 
I.  Life  as  a  pilgrimage. 

1.  This  idea  of  iife  would  be  suggested  by  the  very 
nature  of  the  human  constitution  and  the  relation  in 
which  we  stand  to  the  world  around  us.  Everything 
suggests  that  this  is  a  passage  world  for  us,  and  not  a 
resting  world.  There  is  nothing  in  it  to  satisfy  the  im- 
mortal nature.  It  can  give  food,  clothing  and  many 
objects  to  gratify  the  desires  of  the  body,  but  not  those 
of  the  soul.  After  all  that  earth  can  yield,  man  still  feels 
that  he  is  a  stranger  and  pilgrim  here. 

2.  This  idea  would  be  also  suggested  by  life's  con- 
stant changeableness  and  instability.  This  is  no  chance 
arrangement.  We  are  to  have  so  much  of  good  in  our 
lot  as  to  enable  us  to  bear  the  evil,  and  so  much  of  evil 
commingled  with  it  that  our  hearts  may  not  be  unduly 
set  upon  the  good.  A  travelller  must  expect  to  meet 
here  poor  entertainment,  there  sumptuous  fare — at  one 
time  walking  in  a  sunny  path,  at  another  under  a  dark- 
ening sky.  In  these  varied  experiences  of  human  life, 
faith  finds  its  exercise  and  hope  is  enabled  to  make  its 

XI* 


250  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

own  bright  world — where  there  is  a  home  for  the  tired 
spirit,  a  place  where  God  will  make  everything  plain  and 
right  to  those  who  were  but  strangers,  &c.,  here. 

3.  The  text  would  suggest  to  us  an  infinite  and  ever- 
lasting existence.  He  that  is  a  stranger  in  a  country 
has  another  country  which  he  calls  his  own — a  pilgrim 
has  a  place,  a  destination  towards  which  he  is  hastening. 
This  is  the  leading  topic  of  the  apostle^s  argument  here. 
Abraham  understood  the  temporal  part  of  the  promise  to 
be  its  inferior  part,  that  with  it  there  was  a  promise  of 
infinitely  higher  reach,  viz.  :  the  promise  of  eternal  life. 
This  persuasion  had  a  direct  practical  influence  on  his 
conduct.  He  never  made  a  home  of  Canaan,  built  no 
city,  &c.,  but  he  lived  on,  a  mere  dweller  in  tabernacles, 
as  one  Avho  might  be  required  to  change  on  the  morrow. 
He  and  the  other  patriarchs  knew  that  God  had  prepared 
for  them  a  city,  and  therefore  they  lived  in  the  midst  of 
the  Canaanitish  races,  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the 
earth. 

II.  Let  us  consider  a  few  practical  lessons  suggested 
by  this  view  of  life. 

1.  The  duty  of  contentment — of  acquiescence  in  that 
lot  which  God  has  appointed  for  us — whether  it  be  fixed 
here  or  there.  "  Time  is  short,"  and  the  nearer  we  get 
to  home,  the  less  important  will  all  former  disappoint- 
ments appear.  But  we  often  forget  we  are  but  pilgrims 
here. 

2.  In  such  a  view  of  life  reference  should  be  constant- 
ly had  to  Divine  guidance  and  direction.  We  are  not 
"pilgrims"  only,  but  "  Strang  or s.'^  A  stranger  in  a 
strange  land  does  not  know  his  way.  Misled  by  delusive 
appearances,  he  may  take  a  way  that  seemeth  right  unto 
him,  but  "  the  end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death.''  He 
may  take  one  path  for  its  smoothness  and  find  it  beset 
Vyith  perils  and  hidden  snares — another  for  its  shortness 


MIDDLE    AGE.  251 

and  finds  he  has  gone  far  out  of  his  way.  "  The  way  of 
man  is  not  in  himself,  &c."  This  consideration  had 
much  weight  with  Old  Testament  saints.  Their  choices 
were  constantly  influenced  by  a  regard  to  the  spiritual 
part  of  the  promise.  They  went  here  or  there,  made  or 
refused  this  alliance  according  as  they  believed  it  brought 
them  nearer  within  the  reach  of  the  Divine  promises. 
We  see  in  Abraham  especially,  a  practical  recognition  of 
his  pilgrim  state — an  acknowledgment  that  he  was  but  a 
stranger,  having  God's  hand  and  eye  to  direct  him.  And 
for  safety,  peace  and  happiness  this  will  be  found  to  be 
our  safest  course  too. 

3.  The  duty  of  exercising  in  all  things  a  holy  modera- 
tion and  subriety. 

The  patriarchs  might  have  lived  in  tents  in  Chaldea 
or  in  palaces  in  Canaan,  but  they  would  do  neither,  for 
the  tents  were  designed  by  God  to  be  a  standing  memo- 
rial, and  protest  against  a  worldly  spirit,  even  as  Canaan 
itself  was  to  be  an  emblem  of  the  spiritual  and  eternal 
state.  They  kept  their  tents  because  they  would  testify 
to  the  simplicity  of  patriarchal  character,  and  witness 
against  the  pride,  covetousness  and  ostentation  too  often 
found  to  accompany  a  season  of  prosperity.  Thus  we 
are  to  "let  our  moderation  be  known  unto  all  men,"  live 
within  such  bounds  as  shall  be  consistent  with  a  character 
of  Christian  simi)licity  and  a  protest  against  the  worldli- 
ness  of  the  times.  We  must  be  ''sober,"  sober  in  our 
joys,  griefs,  gains,  and  in  all  the  pursuits  of  life.  Whether 
we  acknowledge  it  or  not,  we  are  but  pilgrims  and 
strangers,  dwelling  as  under  a  perishable  gourd,  which 
may  witlier  in  a  night  and  leave  the  head  wliich  had 
foolishly  rejoiced  in  its  shadow  uncovered  before  the 
wrath  of  God. 

4.  Having  no  continuing  city  here^  we  should  seek 
01)0  to  come.     The  patriarchs  had  no  home  in  Canaan, 


252  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

vet  they  loved  it,  because  an  emblem  of  the  heavenly 
city.  It  Tvas  not  because  of  the  fertility  of  its  valleys  or 
the  beauty  of  its  hills,  but  because  it  was  typical  of  the 
rest  of  the  covenant,  where  God  had  promised  to  honor, 
meet  and  bless  his  people,  and  associated  with  all  their 
most  lofty  anticipations  of  the  life  of  the  world  to  come. 

In  like  manner,  while  we  are  in  the  world  we  are  not 
to  be  of  it.  Hallowed  as  this  world  is,  as  the  sphere  of 
our  probation,  the  battle-field  of  victorious  saints  and 
the  temporary  home  of  God's  Son,  it  is  yet  to  be  regard- 
ed as  our  passage  to  another  and  a  better  country. 
'^'^  Arise  and  depart,  this  is  not  your  rest,"  for  it  is 
marked  by  vicissitude,  disappointment,  uncertainty,  pol- 
luted by  wickedness,  injustice,  impiety,  because  your 
lieai-t  troubles  you,  makes  this  world  a  scene  of  constant 
disquietude,  and  draws  away  from  better  thoughts  and 
hopes.  Seek  a  better  country.  Let  the  spirit  aspire  after 
u  brighter,  better  home.  These  patriarchs  were  per- 
suaded there  was  such  a  home.  They  looked  for  it,  re- 
joiced in  it,  lived  in  anticipation  of  it,  and  even  had,  while 
here,  a  blessed  foretaste  of  the  country  they  were  seeking. 

They  looked  for  a  city — its  builder  was  Christ.  They 
looked  for  a  country — its  Lord  was  Christ.  They  looked 
lor  a  cleansing  from  all  their  j^ilgrim  stains  and  they 
found  it  in  Clirist.  They  looked  for  rest  from  all  their 
pilgrim  toils  and  they  found  it  in  Christ — the  tii'ed 
pilgrim's  home,  the  saint's  everlasting  rest. 


Let  me  grow  by  sun  and  shower, 

Every  moment  water  me; 
Make  me  really  hour  by  hour 

More  and  more  conformed  to  Thee, 
That  Thy  loving  eye  may  trace, 
Pay  by  day,  my  growth  in  orjace. 

—  F.  7?.  Uarergal. 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES. 


OLD    AGE. 


FAITHFULNESS  CROWNED. 

ROSWELL   D.    HITCHCOCK,    D.D. 

Be  thou  faithful  unto  death  and  1  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life. 

—Rev.  ii:  10. 

T^HE  age  of  martyrdom  has  gone,  but  this  call  has  a 
voice  for  all  ages  and  comes  to  us  man  by  man.  "  Be 
thou,  etc." 

I.  The  duty  enjoined. 

All  men  have  not  faith.  Some  have  little,  but  no  one 
enough.  Many  things  tempt  our  fidelity — comfort,  ag- 
grandizement, pleasure,  position,  property.  The  eye  of 
faith  sees  a  higher  world.  Nothing  should  be  so  much 
dreaded  as  wrong. 

Faith  recognizes  the  ministry  of  sorrow.  The  great 
Psalm  of  life  has  deeper  tones  than  those  of  joy.  Our 
path  grows  more  solitary  as  we  advance.  In  the  ranks 
are  fewer  and  the  line  grows  slenderer.  Violent  diseases 
lie  in  ambush  at  every  turn  and  disappointments  meet  us 
at  every  step.  In  all  we  must  be  faithful.  Faith  re- 
cognizes the  solemnity  and  sturdiness  of  duty.  That  is 
a  great,  a  granite   word.     Life   is   charged  with  great 

[253] 


^5i  MEMORIAL      TEiBtTTE!3. 

duties.  To  be  diligent  in  saving  own's  own  self,  and  in 
saving  others  is  the  great  work  of  life. 

Faith  looks  without  alarm  and  continuously  toward 
death  which  terminates  all.  It  is  coming  to  all,  we 
know  not  how,  we  know  not  when.  It  will  come  surely. 
The  call  is,  be  faithful  to  death.  The  duty  is  to  be  dis- 
charged not  by  fits  and  starts,  but  continuously  until  the 
call  is  heard.     Steadiness  is- indispensable  to  success. 

II.  The  reward. 

The  figure  is  taken  from  the  laurel  crown  given  at  the 
Grecian  games.  Paul  prefered  death  to  life,  thougli  he 
was  willing  to  remain.  Even  the  Pagan  said  that  the 
day  of  death  was  the  birthday  into  eternal  life.  The 
Thracians  gave  tears  to  the  birth  couch,  but  triumph  to 
the  grave.  Cicero  spake  of  the  glorious  day  when  he 
should  depart  and  join  the  multitude  beyond.  Christ 
brought  to  light  these  ti'uths,  conquered  death,  and  said, 
"  This  day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise/^ 


THE  HEAVENLY   HOPE. 

KEY.    JAMES   PARSONS. 
The  Jiope  which  is  laid  up  for  you  in  heaven. — Col.  i:  5. 
A     PEIME  question  is,  whither  is  my  being  tending, 
and  what  shall  be  its  close  ? 
I.  There  is  given  to  man  the  prospect  of  future  good. 
The  apostle  speaks  about  a   hope — the  expectation  of 
future  good — of  universal  operation  among  men  both  as 
regards  this  life  and  the  life  to  come.     God  has  opened 
a  beautiful  vista  before  us,  corresponding  to  our  views 
and  wishes — mansions,  a  kingdom,  an  iuheritance,  &c. — 
abodes  of  purity,  knowledge,  triumph,   companionship, 
life  and  immortality  !     We  can  hope  for  all  this  ! 


OLD    AGE.  255 

II.  Certain  requisites  are  necessary  for  participating 
in  that  prospect.  Hope  is  founded  on  faith,  and  we 
must  believe  before  we  can  hope  for  the  enjoyment  of 
heaven. 

1.  Faith  in  the  declaration  of  God  by  which  the  na- 
ture of  these  prospects  is  disclosed.  Whatever  God  has 
revealed  must  be  believed,  received  and  cherished. 

2.  Faith  in  the  method  of  mercy  revealed  by  God  as 
the  only  way  by  which  a  participation  in  these  prospects 
can  be  enjoyed.  The  apostle  speaks  of  ^' your  faith  in 
Christ,'^  ver.  3.  This  is  the  way  in  which  the  prospects 
of  futurity  can  be  brought  home  to  our  comfort.  ^'  He 
that  believeth  in  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life/" 

III.  The  prospect  of  future  good,  when  trusted  in, 
rests  on  the  most  firm  and  inviolable  security.  It  is 
''laid  up,'"  same  word  in  27  ver.  rendered  ''appointed."" 
It  rests, 

1.  On  the  authority  of  the  word  of  God.  It  is  "  the 
hope  of  eternal  life ""  which  God  who  cannot  lie  has  pro- 
mised.    Heb.  vi  :  18. 

2.  The  word  of  God  is  ratified  by  the  work  of  the  Re- 
deemer. "All  the  promises  of  God  are  yea  and  amen  in 
Christ  Jesus.""  His  death  as  a  sacrifice,  his  resurrection 
as  a  testimony,  and  his  present  residence  where  he  is 
preparing  for  us,  each  ratifies  God"s  word. 

IV.  These  prospects  must  produce  powerful  influence 
on  the  heart, 

1.  The  hope  excites  to  holiness  of  life — "Everyone 
that  has  this  hope,  &c."" 

2.  Produces  calmness  and  peace,  amid  the  trials  of 
life.     "I  reckon,  &c." 

3.  Gives  confidence  in  the  approaches  of  decay  and 
dissolution.  Martyrs  have  rejoiced  in  the  flames — this 
light  lightens  the  gloom.  It  is  a  good,  a  lovely,  a  sweet 
^ — a  hope  that  maketh  not  ashamed.     Is  it  my  property  ? 


250  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 


THE  GLAD  ANNOUNCEMENT. 

GARDINER  SPRING,    D.D. 
J.  am  ilie  resurrection  and  the  life. — John  xi:  25. 
TT^HAT  an  annunciation  to  a  world  of  sinners  !    What 
tidings  to  dying  men  ! 

I.  Christ  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life  to  men  as 
sinners.  This  thought  relates  to  their  moral  or  spiritual 
resurrection.  Men  are  naturally  '''dead"  in  trespasses, 
etc.  In  this  sense  the  world  is  a  vast  sepulcher  over 
which  the  Son  of  man  proclaims  :  ^^  I  am  the  resurrec- 
tion/^ etc.  His  voice  alone  can  reach  these  gloomy  man- 
sions. By  the  omnipotent  energy  of  his  own  spirit  he 
asserts  his  prerogative,  and  what  could  not  be  effected  by 
sermon  or  by  prayers,  by  mercies  or  by  judgments,  is  as 
readily  accomplished  as  when  he  said,  "Lazarus,  come 
forth/^ 

IL  Christ  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life  to  dying  men. 
This  thought  relates  to  the  resurrection  of  the  body. 
Natural  death  is  the  consequence  of  spiritual.  Death  has 
extended  his  empire  everywhere  on  this  earth.  Will  his 
scepter  ever  be  broken  or  these  graves  open  ?  Yes. 
Christ's  words  are  true.  The  wisdom  and  philosophy  of 
the  world  liave  not  always  credited  this  truth.  But  the 
analogies  of  nature,  the  suggestions  of  unaided  reason, 
the  traditions  of  men  are  not  silent  on  this  theme,  yet  it 
is  one  of  the  distinguished  peculiarities  of  the  revealed 
religion.  The  resurrection  of  Christ  insures  it,  and  the 
testimonies  of  inspired  writers  corroborate  it.  The  resur- 
rection will  be  universal,  ''all  that  are  in  their  graves,^' 
etc.  The  resurrection  will  be  successive,  ''  every  man  in 
his  own  order/^  etc.  Will  take  place  at  a  given  signal. 
''  Shall  hear  his  voice,"  etc.  Will  take  place  at  the  last 
great  day.     "  In  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day."     The 


OLD    AGE.  25t 

resurrected  body  will  be  essentially  the  same  body  that 
was  deposited.  In  many  respects,  greatly  changed — to 
incorrupt  ion,  glory,  power,  spirit.  The  bodies  of  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked  rise  to  very  different  allotments 
— ^'resurrection  of  life,"  '^  resurrection  of  damnation.^^ 
Let  us  think  of  the  morning  when  over  the  tomb  of  this 
world  Jesus  shall  announce,  '^'^I  am  the  resurrection  and 
the  life/^ 


THE  MORTAL  AND  THE  IMMORTAL  COM- 
PANION. 

REV.  H.  F.  BURDER. 
Behold  1  die,  but  God  shall  be  with  you. — Gen.  xlviii  :  21. 
T^T'HAT  composure  and  satisfaction  are  here  ! 
*  ^      I.  Consider  Ms  words  in  reference  to  himself. 

1.  He  was  satisfied  witli  the  amount  of  enjoyment 
which  the  God  of  liis  life  had  granted  him.  He  had 
been  brought  to  regard  human  life  as  a  pilgrimage  and 
journey,  which  were  checquered  with  joy  and  sorrow, 
prosperity  and  adversity.  At  its  close  he  blessed  the 
Lord  who  had  fed  him,  &c. 

2.  He  was  satisfied  with  the  duration  of  life  which 
had  been  allowed  him.  His  life  was  short  compared 
with  his  ancestors,  but  he  had  attained  the  two  great 
objects  of  life — a  good  hope  for  immortality  and  the 
serving  of  God  in  his  geueration  according  to  His  will. 

3.  He  was  satisfied  with  the  prospect  of  a  better  life 
which  was  opening  before  him.  In  the  midst  of  his 
dying  benediction  he  paused  and  exclaimed,  "I  have 
waited  for  thy  salvation,  0  Lord."  Who  can  tell  what 
visions  of  glory  were  at  that  moment  granted  to  his 
spirit  ?  At  liis  outset  in  life  he  beheld  the  ladder  and 
now  he  may  have  seen  what  Sreplion  saw. 


258  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

II.  His  words  are  suggestive  of  his  repose  in  refer 
ence  to  his  surviving  relatives. 

1.  The  mauifestatious  of  the  Divine  mercy  to  him- 
self encouraged  his  hopes  as  to  his  surviving  relatives. 
Read  the  context.  "And  Israel  said  unto  Joseph,  &c." 
What  more  could  he  wish  for  his  sons  or  for  his  son's 
sons  than  the  guidance,  protection  and  blessing  of  that 
great  Redeeming  angel  ? 

2.  He  was  persuaded  that  the  paternal  benediction 
he  was  authorized  to  pronounce  had  an  aspect  peculiarly 
favorable  to  his  descendants.  "  Let  my.  name  be  named 
upon  them."  "  Behold  I  die,  but  God  shall  be  with  you 
and  bring  you,  &c.'''     The  covenant  made  to  Abraham. 

3.  He  felt  assured  that  the  covenant  made  with 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  himself  secured  the  presence  and 
blessing  of  God  to  hissarvivorsto  the  remotest  age.  '^  God 
shall  be  Avith  you."  See  the  promise — a  clearer  develop- 
ment made  to  Jacob.  "The  sceptre  shall  not,  &c." — to 
Moses,  "'  my  presence  shall  go,  &c."  God  never  abandons 
his  charge.  What  a  comfort  to  Christian  parents  living 
and  dying ! 


THE  PIVOTAL  FACT. 

THOMAS  ARMITAGE,  D.D, 
T?ie  Lord  is  risen  indeed. — Luke,  24:  34. 
"iV/riLLIONS  of  Orientals  utter  these  words  every  Easter 
day.  They  are  pivotal  words — as  Paul  avows. 
"If  Clirist  be  not  risen,  &c."  Christ's  resurrection  is  the 
key-stone  of  the  Christian  religion.  He  allows  of  no 
second  question.  If  thus  be  not  a  fact,  cut  out  from  the 
cherished  tombstone  of  your  tenderly  loved  ones,  the 
flaunting  fraud,  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life." 
Then  they  who  have  fallen  asleep  have  perished. 


OLD    AOSl.  2^9 

i.  The  resurrection  was  a  miracle.  This  the  Scrip- 
tures set  forth.  There  is  no  such  po\ycr  lodged  in  na- 
ture. It  was  accomplished  by  God's  immediate  power. 
Hear  Peter:  ''  This  man,  whom  God  raised  up,  &c/'  Hear 
Paul:  "Which  He  wrought  in  Christ,  when  he  raised 
him  from  the  dead,  &c." 

II.  What  the  resurrection  body  was.  The  same  that 
was  crucified,  &c.  ''  The  Lord  has  risen,"  not  someone 
else.     I  argue  this: 

1.  From  the  fact  that  he  prophesied  his  own  per- 
sonal resurrection,  in  his  own  personal  idenity.  Again 
and  again  he  told  this  to  his  disciples.  It  was  the  same 
Jonah  that  went  into  the  whale's  belly  that  came  out ; 
so  of  Jesus. 

2.  From  the  fact  that  his  disciples,  his  most  intimate 
friends,  recognized  that  identity  though  reluctantly. 
Joseph  did  not  steal  him,  nor  did  any  thieves.  The 
angels  were  careful  to  describe  who  had  risen.  The  risen 
Christ  treated  his  disciples  exactly  as  before  his  death. 
The  same  old  hearts  beat  together  again.  Every  word, 
and  act  and  look  whispers  from  heart  to  heart.  "It  is 
the  Lord.    It  is  the  Lord." 

3.  From  the  fact  that  He  recognized  his  own  iden- 
tity. He  explained  the  things  concerning  Himself. 
Kebuked  them  as  before  for  their  unbelief,  ate  with  them 
as  before,  told  them  they  should  work  signs  as  before, 
and  to  tarry  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  made  to 
them  before.     These  argue,   "  It  is  I  myself.'" 

But  the  difficulty  is  with  some  how  could  He  appear 
to  his  disciples,  when  the  doors  were  closed  ?  The 
words  do  not  necessarily  imply  that  they  were  holted. 
He  appears  suddenly  to  his  disciples  before  on  the 
sea — with  the  disciples.  Some  might  imagine  some 
wonderful  change  had  taken  place  in  his  body  since 
they     had     left     him     on     the    shore,     but    no     such 


2C0  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

change  had  taken  place,  but  what  he  did  was  super- 
human, as  his  entrance  into  the  room  may  have  been 
superhuman.  His  body  was  like  ours,  but  not  neces- 
sarily controlled  at  all  times  in  all  respects  like  ours. 
He  was  man  and  more — God.  He  governs  the  laws,  not 
the  laws  Him.  And  his  body  was  always  glorious  enough, 
neither  to  be  sin-stained,  nor  to  see  corruption,  and  that 
is  the  kind  of  body  his  people  shall  hereafter  possess. 


THE  DEATH  OF  A  GREAT  MAN. 

BEV.    THOMAS  J.    COLE. 

*'  A  great  man  fallen  this  day  in  IsraeV^ — 2  Sam.  iii  :  38. 

/2J_0D'S  procedure  is  often  inscrutable,  useful  men  re- 
^^    moved,  worthless  ones  spared. 

I.  The  constituents  of  true  greatness.  The  world 
idolizes  greatness  of  a  certain  kind.  Station,  wealth, 
talent,  knowledge,  military  prowess,  etc.  True  greatness 
needs  not  these  auxiliaries.     It  consists  in: 

1.  Humility — feeling  his  own  weakness,  imperfections, 
lying  low  before  God  and  looking  to  Him  for  all  strength 
and  grace — Moses  at  the  bush. 

2.  Submission.  Bowing  with  child-like  acquiescence 
in  all  God's  dealings,  resting  securely  in  our  Father's 
bosom,  as  Jesus  in  Gethsemane.     Aaron. 

3.  Faith.  This  enables  man  to  see  God  as  reconciled 
in  Jesus,  fulfilling  in  Providence  the  promises  of  his  word 
and  ever  present  as  a  source  of  strength.  Three  Hebrew 
youths,  Daniel,  Peter  and  John. 

4.  Holiness.  He  is  the  greatest  conqueror  who  has 
conquered  himself.  No  man  can  do  this  except  in  God's 
strength.     Joseph  in  Potiphar's  lionse. 


OLD    AQE.  261 

5.  Earnestness.  A  whole-heartedness,  deterred  by 
no  diflBculties.     Neliemiah,  Paul. 

6.  Courage.  Not  brate  or  mere  animal — but  looking 
up  to  God  with  a  confiding  heart  and  from  a  sense  of 
duty  unflinchingly  enters  the  struggle  and  presses  on  to 
victory.     David  and  Goliath. 

7.  Love.  Love  to  God  in  Ohrist — ready  to  endure 
any  amount  of  suffering  and  of  trial  for  the  honor  of  the 
Saviour.     Paul,  "  I  could  wish/'  etc.   '^  Ido  count/'  etc. 

II.  The  right  position  for  such  a  character,  -"in 
Israel."  Such  a  man  should  be  one  with  the  Lord's  peo- 
ple, united  to  them,  separated  from  the  world  and  walking 
in  all  the  ordinances,  etc.  All  the  truly  great  should  be 
in  the  church. 

1.  To  proclaim  their  love  to  Christ.  To  show  they 
are  with  the  people  he  has  bought,  the  church  he  has 
established  and  not  living  to  themselves. 

2.  To  manifest  their  sympathy  with  God's  people,  in 
holy  fellowship,  strengthening  each  other's  faith,  sharing 
each  other's  joy,  etc. 

3.  To  aid  in  the  Master's  triumphs.  In  united  action 
and  in  aggressive  movements  upon  the  world.  Fighting 
with  Christ's  soldiers. 

III.  The  solemn  fact  recorded,  a  great  man  ''  fallen," 
Death  knows  no  rank,  respects  no  service,  vindicates  his 
supremacy  over  the  smallest  and  greatest. 

What  is  thy  character  ?  Art  thou  truly  great  ?  What 
is  thy  position  ?  Art  thou  in  Israel  ?  What  is  thy  pros- 
pect of  death  ?     Art  thou  saved? 


Jesus,  my  only  hope  Thou  art  I 
Strength  of  my  failing  flesh  and  heart; 
Oil,  could  1  catch  a  smile  from  Thee, 
And  drop  into  eternity, 


262  MElslOniAL     TRIBUTES. 


THE  GRAVE'S   CONQUEROR. 

THOMAS  GUTHRIE,  D.D. 
IJiefirst  horn  from  tJte  dead. — Col.  i:  18 
T^EATH  is  an  event  we  need  not  attempt  to  shut  out 
^^^  of  view.  When  it  occurs  we  invite  friends  to  the 
funeral.  The  spot  where  rest  the  remains  is  sacred,  a 
monument  or  willow  expresses  our  grief,  or  a  pine  green 
amid  hoary  frosts  symbolizes  the  hopes  of  the  living  and 
the  immortality  of  the  dead.  From  the  thought  of 
death,  the  heart  of  a  heathen  recoils.  Without  the  hope 
of  a  better  world,  death  is  an  object  of  unutterable  gloom, 
needs  all  the  consolations  that  religion  can  administer. 
Christ  has  not  left  his  people  comfortles<^.  By  his  life, 
death  and  resurrection  he  has  fulfilled  the  high  expecta- 
tions of  prophets.  He  conquered  the  King  of  terrors,  and 
became  the  firstborn  from  the  dead.     In  what  respects  ? 

I.  He  is  so  in  the  dignity  of  his  person.  The  great- 
est who  ever  entered  or  shall  ever  leave  the  gates  of 
death.  I  can  fancy  all  the  dead  astonished  at  his  com- 
ing— never  before  were  any  of  the  dead  awakened  at  the 
coming  of  another.  ''  Art  thou  become  like  one  of  us  ?" 
The  dead  men  who  returned  alive  to  Jerusalem  at  Christ's 
death  showed  that  the  reign  of  death  was  drawing  to  a 
close,  and  his  own  resurrection  proclaimed  Him  the  first 
and  greatest  of  the  dead. 

II.  Because  He  rose  by  his  own  power.  There  is  no 
sensibility,  no  passion,  no  power  in  death.  In  all  cases, 
but  Christy  resurrection  life  was  not  resumed,  but  re- 
stored. He  wakes  of  his  own  accord,  rises  by  his  own 
power,  verifying  his  own  saying,  ''  I  have  power  to  lay, 
&c." 

III.  J£e  is  th^  pnly  one  who  ro?e  never  to  ^ie  a|^ain, 


OLD     AGE.  263 

Others  who  were  raised,  had  to  return.  They  were  only 
out  on  bail.  But  Jesus  lives  not  to  be  summoned,  but 
to  summons.     He  dieth  no  more — He  fills  the  throne. 

IV.  Because  he  has  taken  precedence  of  his  people  who 
are  all  to  rise  from  their  graves  to  glory.  He  has  gone  to 
prepare  a  place  for  us.  The  King  has  gone  before.  It 
was  his  right.  The  head  rises  first.  He  is  the  prelude 
to  our  own  resurrection.  He  is  the  harbinger  and  blessed 
j)ledge  to  our  own.     The  first  fruits. 

If  we  are  reconciled  to  God  through  Christ  Jesus, 
what  reconciling  views  of  death  does  this  open  up  to  us  ? 
We  shall  rise  like  Him.  Let  Him  have  the  pre-emin- 
ence in  our  thoughts,  lives  and  hearts.  Who  but  He 
shall  have  it  ?     Bend  every  sheaf  to  Joseph's. 


THOUGHTS  ON  THE  LAST  BATTLE. 

EEV.   C.  H.  SPURGEON". 

The  sting  of  death  is  si/i ;  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law.  But 
thanks  be  unto  God,  lo/iich  giveth  us  the  victory  th^cugh  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. — 1  Cor.  xv  :  56,  57. 

nnHOXJGH  the  Bible  is  one  of  the  most  poetical  of 
^  books,  and  its  language  often  unutterably  sublime, 
yet  it  is  constantly  true  to  nature.  However  dark  may 
be  the  subject  and  however  brilliant  may  be  the  light 
thrown  upon  it,  it  does  not  deny  the  gloom  connected 
Avith  it.     Such  a  subject  is  death. 

I.  The  sting  of  death.  Death  is  a  terrible  monster 
which  each  one  must  fight.  He  cannot  be  avoided. 
Each  man  separately  and  alone  mast  encounter  him. 
Ho  cannot  be  killed  by  any  mortal,  but  his  sting  may  be 
extracted. 

1,  Sin  is  the  sting.    It  brought  death  into  t-he  world, 


264  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

Death  is  the  punishment  of  sin — this  makes  it  terrible 
and  dreaded. 

2.  Death  more  dreaded  when  sin  is  not  forgiven. 
Sins  come  trooping  round  the  death-bed  of  every  un- 
prepared one.  How  fearful  they  look.  How  they  whip 
the  conscience  like  scorpions. 

3.  Sin  is  the  prospect  most  dreaded  of  all.  What 
shall  it  be  in  the  next  state  ?  unfolding  its  bitter  fruit 
for  ever — no  fountain  to  wash  it  away  and  no  pr.rdon 
ever  extended  to  it. 

II.  The  strength  of  sin.  This  is  the  "law."  That 
law  must  be  satisfied.     This  no  man  can  do. 

1.  The  law  is  spiritual,  extends  to  the  wish  of  the 
heart,  and  therefore  man  cannot  keep  it.  The  very  im- 
agination of  the  thought  is  sin. 

2.  The  law  will  not  abate  one  title  of  its  stern  de- 
mands. It  says  to  every  man  who  breaks  it,  '^^  I  will  not 
forgive  you."  It  curses  but  never  pardons.  To  keep  it 
we  must  be  holy  as  angels,  immaculate  as  Jesus. 

3.  The  law  will  exact  a  punishment  for  every  trans- 
gression. The  two  are  linked  as  with  adamantine 
chains.  The  law  therefore  gives  such  strength  to  sin 
that  no  man  can  extract  this  sting  of  death. 

III.  The  victory  of  faith.  This  is  the  Christian's 
througli  Jesus  Christ. 

1.  Christ  has  removed  the  law  as  a  rewarding  principle 
to  the  believer.     He  is  not  rewarded  by  it. 

2.  Christ  has  completely  satisfied  it — given  it  a 
perfect  obedience  and  met  all  its  demands,  and  the 
Christian  in  death  finds  sin,  its  sting,  gone,  and  can 
challenge  the  monster  thus,  "  Who  shall  lay  anything  to 
the  charge,  &c.  ?"  Thanks  be  unto  God  for  Jesus — the 
law's  satisfier — the  extractor  of  death's  sting  and  the 
giver  of  the  yictory  to  every  believer  in  Him« 


OLD    AQJS.  ^O; 


THE  RIPE  CHRISTIAN  DYING. 

REV.    C.    H.    SPURGEON". 

**Thou  Shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn 
Cometh  in  his  season.— Job  v:  26. 

THIS  is  a  very  beautiful  comparison.  The  shock  of 
com  has  passed  through  many  changes,  survived 
many  onsets  of  the  worm,  and  tempests  of  wind  and 
rain,  etc.,  and  is  now  ripe  for  the  sickle  and  the  garner. 
So  with  the  aged  Christian.  How  often  did  he  in  early 
life  seem  likely  to  be  smitten  down  by  death— how  often 
has  he  been  buffetted— accidents  innumerable  seemed 
ready  to  smite— but  he  has  survived  and  now  is  bending 
with  weakness  and  crowned  with  the  glory  of  the  aged 
Christian.     The  text  intimates: 

I.  That  death  is  inevitable.     ''  Thou  shall  come." 
This  is  a  true  saying,  and  yet  how  seldom  impressed 

upon  the  heart.  There  are  many  reminders  of  the  fact, 
but  it  is  usually  forgotten.  Death  is  not  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  Christian,  for  a  time  will  come  when  ^'we 
which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be  caught  up,"  etc. 

II.  Death  to  the  Christian  is  always  acceptable. 
"Tliou  sliiilt  come  to  thy  grave."     There  will  be  a 

willingness  and  cheerfulness  to  die.  He  shall  die  quietly, 
coming  to  the  grave  as  to  a  qniet  restmg-place— this  has 
been  the  experience  of  many  of  God's  children. 

III.  The  Christian's  death  is  always  timely.  ''Ii\'^ 
full  age."  Die  when  God's  children  may,  they  die  m 
''  full  age."  "  A  full  age  "  is  whenever  God  likes  to  take 
his  children  home.  Some  fruits  ripen  early^  others  late 
in  the  season.  A  Christian  will  never  die  too  soon,  and 
never  die  too  late— never  before  ripeness  and  not  after 
ripeness. 

13 


266  MEMORIAL     TlilBUTES. 

IV.  The  Christian  will  die  with  honor.  ^'  Like  a 
shock  of  corn  cometh  in  his  season."  There  is  such  a  thing 
as  an  honorable  funeral,  where  devout  men  assemble, 
carry  to  the  grave  and  make  great  lamentation.  Such 
funerals  are  like  a  *'  harvest  home."  There  is  such  a 
melancholy  grandeur  there.  We  ought  to  pay  great  re- 
spect to  the  departed  saints'  bodies.  ''The  memory  uf 
the  just  is  blessed." 

There  are  two  funerals  for  every  Christian  ;  one  the 
funeral  of  the  body  and  the  other  the  soul — rather  it  is 
the  marriage  of  the  soul  ;  for  angels  stand  ready  to  car- 
ry it  to  the  Saviour.  The  angels,  imitating  husbandmen, 
as  they  near  the  gates  of  heaven  may  shout  ''Harvest 
Home."  There  is  a  holiday  whenever  a  saint  enters — 
and  there  is  praise  to  God, 

"While  life,  or  thought,  or  being  lasts, 
Or  immortality  endures." 


THE  INEVITABLE  BATTLE. 

KEY.  U.  R.  THOMAS. 
There  is  no  discharge  in  that  war. — Ecc.  viii :  8. 
''pHE  dark  thought  in  these  words  is  the  inevitable- 
ness  of  death.  Death  is  an  unavoidable  war — a 
war  in  which  we  are  all  pressed  men.  The  richest  can 
obtain  no  substitute,  and  the  greatest  are  not  exempt. 
Illustrious  statesmen  must  enter  the  lists.  Queens  and 
kings  are  like  others  here.  Death  comes  up  into  their 
windows  and  enters  into  their  palaces.  The  Queen  of 
Song  must  sing  her  own  battle-cry  and  take  the  place  of 
a  dead  minstrel.  The  sculptor,  the  geologist,  the 
architect,  how  renowned  each  may  be,  must  resign  tiie 
chisel,  hammer  or  pencil  to  other  hands.  The  skillful 
physician  who  devoted  his  life  to  conflict  disease  uud 


OLD     AGE.  2G7 

resist  deutli,  falls  at  last  himself.  The  accomplished 
historian  drops  in  the  ranks  and  leaves  it  to  another  to 
write  his  history.  The  judge  upon  the  bench  drops  his 
pen  and  takes  his  place  in  the  silent  corps.  Philanthro- 
pists, who  have  given  themselves  to  remove  suffering 
and  confer  happiness,  are  called  by  this  giant  Death  to 
cease  their  beneficent  work  and  follow  him,  leaving  be- 
hind a  place  ^'m  the  Pantheon  of  the  workers  of  love." 
Preachers  of  the  cross,  upon  whose  lips  thousands  have 
hung,  and  who  have  turned  many  to  righteousness,  can- 
not evade  death's  reveille,  who  extinguishes  their  burn- 
ing and  shining  light  in  the  tomb.  Two  lessons  at  least 
are  taught. 

I.  That  we  too  shall  have  our  places  among  the  dead, 
even  though  avc  be  obscure,  and  not  illustrious,  unknown 
instead  of  honored.  The  edict  has  gone  out,  ^'It  is  ap- 
pointed unto  all,  &c."  *^  The  small  and  great  are 
tliere.^'  Death  is  a  war.  We  are  all  conscripts  for  that 
war.  There  is  no  necessary  disgrace  in  death.  The 
great  may  have  dignity  there,  the  good  glory.  '*  Not  to 
thy  resting-place  shalt  thou  retire  alone,  &c.^^  But  this 
is  not  our  consolation.  The  strong  consolation,  the 
purest  comfort  is  in  this,  ^'  Christ  died."  The  very 
flower  of  our  humanity  faded,  the  Prince  of  the  Kings 
of  the  earth  died,  laid  in  the  tomb,  left  there  an  im- 
mortal fragrance.  He  took  flesh  and  blood,  "  that 
through  death  he  might  destroy,  &c.'^ 

II.  That  our  death  will  terminate  the  mission  and  fix 
the  influence  of  our  life. 

Various  are  the  ways  in  which  we  niriy  serve  our  gen- 
eration and  glorify  God.  There  is  no  monotony  in  God's 
service.  There  is  a  place  for  each  and  all,  but  the  death 
of  those  who  have  gone  before  us  proclaims  that  our 
work  is  hastening  to  its  close.  Therefore,  "'  whatsoever 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  &c.,''  or   the  nobler  spirit   of 


268  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

Jesus.     "  I  must   work   the   works   of  Him    that    sent 
me,  &c/' 

Let  our  lives  be  good,  if  not  great,  useful,  if  not  il- 
lustrious, and  tlien  our  names  will  be  cherished  on  earth, 
and  we  shall  be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance. 


THE  VITAL  QUESTION. 

JOHK  TODD,  D.D. 
STiall  he  live  again  ? — Job  xvi :  14. 
TT  is  not  whetlier  my  property  be  restored,  or  this  lep- 
rosy  leave  me,  or  my  children  be  decently  buried, 
or  shall  ever  these  friends  now  reproaching  me  alter  their 
opinions,  but,  ''  If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again  ?"  Ten 
thousand  other  questions  will  not  weigh  a  feather  com- 
pared with  this  of  our  text. 

I.  There  are  some  things  which  make  it  seem  im- 
probable that  he  will.  All  men  feel  that  death  is  the  re- 
sult of  sin.  Death  would  not  have  entered  Eden  if  sin 
had  been  kept  out.  Sin  came  bringing  the  flood, 
digging  every  grave  since,  and  keeps  continually  at  his 
work.  The  graveyard  is  full  of  little  cells  in  which  pris- 
oners are  shut  up.  They  were  stripped  of  everything 
before  they  were  confined  there.  No  one  ever  returns. 
Wise  men  have  looked  into  the  grave,  tried  to  peep  into 
eternity,  but  no  voice  was  heard,  no  movement  seen. 
They  saw  nothing  beyond  the  grave,  and  resurrection 
was  almost  too  much  to  hope  for.  How  improbable  that 
the  lifeless  man  shall  ever  come  out  again. 

IL  The  resurrection  of  the  body  seems  probable  for 
two  reasons. 

1.  There  is  an  undefined  impression  in  the  minds  of 
all  men  tliat  the  dead  shall  live  again.     Tlie  heathen  if 


OLt)    AGS.  2^9 

possible  buried  their  families  side  by  side.  Every  family 
had  a  great  tomb.  Abraham  bought  a  burying-ground. 
Jacob  said,  **I  will  lie  with  my  fathers,  &c.'^  A  savage 
carries  his  wife^s  body  a  hundred  miles  to  bury  it  with 
other  loved  ones.  What  is  that  undefined  hope,  that 
voice  that  whispers  to  the  heart,  probably  all  these  shall 
bo  reunited  in  life  again  ?  Is  it  a  ray  shot  from  revela- 
tion ?  The  very  man  who  scorns  the  Bible  wants  a 
family  burying-place. 

2.  The  changes  we  see  take  place  around  us,  show 
the  resurrection  to  be  highly  probable.  Look  at  that 
sand  changed  into  glass.  Look  at  that  little  decaying 
acorn  out  of  which  the  oak  springs.  Look  at  that  leaf- 
less tree  which  the  spring  clothes  anew  with  leaves, 
flowers  and  fruit.  Look  at  that  worm  in  her  cell,  appar- 
ently lifeless,  break  out  into  a  beautiful  insect  brilliant  as 
the  rainbow.  The  power  of  the  resurrection  is  in  each 
of  these.  And  shall  man  so  curiously  and  wondrously 
made,  have  the  spirit  driven  out  of  her  home  for  ever  ? 

III.  The  Bible  makes  it  certain,  that  if  a  man  die,  he 
shall  live  again.  Life  and  immortality  are  brought  to 
light  by  the  Gospel. 

Paul  recites  the  facts  of  Christ^s  resurrection,  and  if 
anything  can  be  proved  by  witnesses  then  it  is  proved 
that  Christ  did  rise  from  the  dead.  God  gave  Him 
power  to  rise.  His  rising  was  a  pledge  that  he  would 
raise  up  all  the  dead.  Job,  who  asks  this  question  of  our 
text,  saw  this  truth,  and  cries,  ^'I  know  that  my  Ee- 
deemer,  &c."  Daniel,  Paul,  and  John  believed  it.  If 
any  docti-ine  is  fully  revealed  it  is  tliis  :  My  whole  being 
has  been  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  The 
debt  has  all  been  paid.  I  shall  come  up  again  from  the 
grave  with  a  body  like  Christ — no  sin,  suffering  or  decay. 
^^ Blessed  is  he  wdio  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection." 


m  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

Those  who  have  done  evil  shall  come  forth  to  the  resur- 
rection of  damnation.  Avert  the  latter  resurrection  by 
coming  to  Christ  for  life  now. 


T 


EESURRECTION  HOPE. 

KEY.  CAKON  H.  MELVILL. 
How  are  the  dead  raised  up,  &c.  ? — 1  Cor.  xv  :  35,  36. 
HE  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  hody  is  pe- 
culiar to  Christianity.  The  immortality  of  the 
spirit  had  been  spelled  out  by  some  of  the  heathen,  but 
when  Paul  spoke  on  Mar^s  Hill  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
body,  some  mocked  and  others  said,  ^^We  will  hear  thee 
again  of  this  matter."     The  text  suggests: 

I.  The  real  identity  of  the  resurrection  body.  The 
apostle  uses  the  figure  of  a  seed  put  into  the  ground,  &c. 
So  the  body  as  a  shriveled  seed  is  put  into  the  ground, 
but  it  shall  rise  different,  and  yet  the  same.  Its  iden- 
tity shall  be  preserved.  Ten  thousand  objections  may  be 
raised.  But  if  it  were  necessary  omnipotence  and  omnis- 
cience could  trace  and  bring  forth  every  atom.  But  to 
preserve  identity  this  is  not  needful.  But  remember 
the  same  body  in  which  you  sinned,  is  the  same  body 
that  shall  suffer  if  you  die  in  sin,  or  if  you  are  a  believer 
the  same  body  in  wliich  you  will  be  glorified. 

II.  While  the  identity  is  real,  the  transformation  is 
glorious.  The  body  is  now  full  of  seeds  of  decay.  It 
has  sufferings,  aches,  pains,  all  premonitions  of  coming 
death.  But  the  new  body  is  incorruptible — upon  it  the 
tooth  of  time  can  have  no  power  and  into  it  the  dart  of 
death  can  never  be  thrust.  Every  part  of  the  new  body 
shall  have  stamped  upon  it  ^^immortality."  It  will  be  a 
beautiful  body.      It  is  raised  in  glory.     The  chrysalis 


oLi)  AGE.  m 

sliall  fall  off,  and  man  shall  mount  aloft  a  glorious  crea- 
ture like  unto  the  Redeemer.  It  will  be  a  powerful  body. 
How  weak  here  in  infancy,  even  at  our  best  state,  and 
how  weak  in  death.  But  then,  it  will  go  from  strength 
to  strength  unwearied — flashing  its  way  across  shoreless 
spaces,  and  serving  God  day  and  night  in  his  temple. 

III.  There  will  be  an  undoubted  personality  of  charac- 
ter. God  hath  given  to  every  seed  his  own  body.  The 
body  of  Paul  shall  be  different  from  that  of  Peter.  Each 
shall  preserve  his  own  peculiarity  and  individuality. 
Each  shall  be  known  from  his  fellow,  and  each  shall  tell 
with  transporting  joy  of  his  former  trials  and  triumphs 
and  of  the  glories  that  they  are  made  alike  to  share.  "We 
have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthly,  but  we  shall  bear  the 
image  of  the  heavenly.  The  wicked  too,  must  rise 
again  from  the  dead.  Their  bodies  will  became  like 
abestos  stone,  which  lies  in  the  flame  and  yet  is  never 
consumed.  It  will  have  power — to  imagine — suffer,  die 
and  yet  to  live.  Identity  will  be  preserved — personality 
will  be  undoubted.  '^  Whosoever  believeth  shall  be 
saved." 


THE  FUTURE  LIFE. 

HENRY   M.  SCUDDER,  D.D. 

Tfien  sliall  tlie  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was  ;  and  the  spirit  shall 
return  unto  Qod  who  gave  it.    Ecclesiastes  xii  :  7. 

^pHE  subject  is  not  chosen  to  edify  by  its  novelty,  but 
rather  to  confirm  faith  in  the  fundamental 
principle  of  Christianity.  The  belief  in  the  survival  of 
the  soul,  however,  was  not  confined  to  Christianity. 
The  old  religions  which  flourished  before  the  time  of 
authentic  history  began  by  affirming  an  existence  after 
this  life.  This  idea  in  various  forms  entered  into  the 
composition  of  every   system    of    religion.      The  grand 


^72  MEMO  Hi  AL      TRIBUTES. 

mythologies  of  the  more  immediate  progenitors  of  our 
later  civilization  assumed  an  hereafter  in  which  a  system 
of  rewards  and  punishments  was  to  be  meted  out.  Even 
the  barbaric  races  are  not  an  exception.  The  grim  Norse  ^ 
man  had  his  Valhalla,  the  American  Indian  his  happy 
hunting-ground,  and  the  more  modern  explorations  into 
the  heart  of  the  *'dark  continent  "  has  failed  to  discover 
a  tribe  or  nomadic  race  that  did  not  hold  to  this  primal, 
essentia]  principle  of  immortality. 

In  another  and  perhaps  more  philosophical  view  of 
the  case,  no  adequate,  logical  reason  could  be  given  for 
human  existence,  if  this  life  ended  all.  Man  stood  at 
the  apex  of  a  pyramid.  Below  him  were  the  various 
forms  of  life,  animal  and  vegetable,  and  the  inanimate 
kingdom.  EverytLing  in  the  world  had  an  object,  an 
end  There  was  a  reason  in  its  existence,  and  it  sub- 
served some  end.  'riie  inanimate  world — the  dull,  cold 
rock  and.  metal — bcrved  a  purpose  in  furnishing  the  es- 
sentials for  animal  and  vegetable  life.  The  vegetable 
world  supported  tbf.  animal  world,  and  each  higher  form 
of  life  subsisted  on  a  lower  form,  the  end  of  whose  ex- 
istence was  thus  attained,  until  man  was  reached.  But 
what  was  the  end  of  man's  life  if  it  ended  here  ?  He 
was  a  philosophical  failure,  a  cosmic  anti-climax.  If  this 
life,  however,  was  but  a  state  of  preparation  for  a  future 
existence,  no  violence  was  done  to  this  grand  law  which 
seemed  to  pervade  all  forms  of  matter,  animate  and  in- 
animate. 

Moreover,  there  is  no  necessary  connection  be- 
tween the  soul  and  the  body,  and  the  death  of  the  latter 
is  no  evidence  that  the  former  ceased  to  exist.  With 
death  the  vital  principle,  the  soul  left  the  body,  but  who 
should  say  that  it  did  not  continue  its  existence  in  a 
different  realm  ?  Man,  too,  has  a  conscience  which  told 
him  what  was  right  and  what  was  wrong.     Right  always, 


OLD    AGE.  2t3 

in  the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  must  be  rewarded,  and 
wrong  must  just  as  surely  be  visited  with  punishment. 
In  this  world  no  one  will  say  that  the  reward  for  right- 
doing  and  the  punishment  for  wrong-doing  is  meted  out, 
and  a  future  existence  is  required  to  properly  adjust 
these  important  relations.  The  doctrine  of  the  survival 
of  the  soul  was  in  favor  of  all  good  and  opposed  to  all 
bad.  Men  who  do  not  believe  in  a  future  life  are  more 
disposed  to  swear,  drink,  lie,  and  swindle  than  the 
believers  in  a  future  existence.  If  these  bad  habits  con- 
sort with  a  denial  of  a  hereafter,  then  the  doctrine  is 
presumably  false  and  meretricious.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
the  belief  in  immortality  characterizes  the  good  man,  it 
is  prima  facie  evidence  of  the  verity  of  that  doctrine. 

God  in  his  writings  has  assured  mankind  that  the 
soul  will  live  :  ''Then  shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth 
as  it  was,  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  G-od  who  gave 
it."  Man  lives  under  an  inexorable  law,  which  requires 
the  body  to  return  to  dust,  and  the  spirit  to  return  to 
the  Creator  who  gave  it.  There  is  no  evasion  or  escape 
from  the  operation  of  these  laws.  One  of  these  laws 
condemned  man  to  an  eternal,  hopeless  death,  but  the 
other  gave  him  eternal  life.  Here  then  was  the  answer 
to  the  ancient  query  :  "  If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again?  " 
"The  spirit  shall  return  to  God  who  gave  it.'^ 

These  laws  are  calculated  to  fill  sinful  men  and 
women  with  terror.  They  are  afraid  to  die,  and  stand 
at  the  Divine  tribunal.  They  could  not  change  the  laws 
or  escape  from  their  operation.  But  Christ  was  the 
supreme  law-giver.  If  they  secured  Him,  He  would 
expiate  their  sins  here  and  answer  for  them  in  Heaven, 
and  reclothe  the  disembodied  spirit. 
10* 


'iU  MEMOUIAL      TMIBiJTBB. 


THE  UNAVOIDABLE  JOUKNEY. 

REV.    JOHi^   H.    MACDOKKA. 

When  a  few  years  are  come,  then  shall  1  go  tlie  way  whence  I  shall  not 
return. — JdB  xvi:  22. 

'"PHIS  is  solemn  truth  to  which  every  human  being 
must  concede  an  unhesitating  assent.  And  it  is  al- 
so true  that  the  sable  stamp  of  death  is  engraven  in  in- 
delible characters  all  over  the  world.  This  is  a  subject 
which  generally  fills  us  with  feelings  of  horror  and 
trembling,  but  there  are  some  who  look  upon  death  as 
Paul,  and  "desire  to  depart."  Of  these  Job  was  one.  He 
had  been  made  a  partaker  of  affliction,  suffered  many  a 
bereavement,  and  he  contemplated  the  time  of  his  de- 
parture with  such  satisfaction  as  none  but  a  Christian 
could  feel,  one  who  reposed  all  his  confidence  in  his  Re- 
deemer. He  rejoiced  in  the  contemplation  that  his  life 
was  so  short — that  its  shortness  would  place  a  period  to 
his  affliction,  and  reveal  to  him  the  glorious  freedom 
from  sin  and  pain  which  he  through  Christ  would  gain 
in  the  unseen  world.  Hence  we  hear  him  in  holy  joy, 
exclaim,  "  When  a  few  years  are  come,"  etc. 

The  words  suggest  two  things  for  consideration. 

I.  The  momentous  journey  here  anticipated. 

How  momentous  the  journey  to  the  tomb  !  The  soul 
setting  out  from  the  perishing  body  to  explore  the  mys- 
teries of  the  unknown  eternity  !  This  mysterious,  this 
momentous,  awful  journey  has  four  characteristics  : — 

1.  It  is  solemn  in  its  nature.  Death  implies  a  sepa- 
ration of  soul  and  body  ;  the  one  to  mingle  wi':h  the  clods 
of  the  valley — the  other  to  bound  into  eternity  either  as 
a  glorified  saint  to  shine  as  a  star  for  ever  in  the  presence 
of  Christ  or  as  a  lost  soul  to  dwell  in  the  regions  of  dark- 


OLD    AGE.  ^t5 

ness  forever.  It  is  separation  too  from  all  we  loved  on 
earth  and  an  entrance  into  the  dark  valley  alone. 

2.  It  is  indisputaUe  in  its  certainty. 

'^  Your  fathers,  where  are  they  ?  and  the  prophets,  do 
they  live  for  ever  ?"  Where  are  those  well  remembered 
faces  and  your  dear  ones  that  live  in  your  memory  ?  All 
gone.  All  have  traveled  the  journey  and  gone  through 
the  dark  valley. 

3.  Death  is  unhnown  as  to  the  time  of  its  occurrence. 
The  moment  is  wisely  hidden  from  our  view.     It  may 

be  at  any  time  or  under  any  circumstances.  When  the 
dimple  of  mirth  is  upon  the  cheek,  when  buying  or  sell- 
ing occupies  the  attention  or  when  old  age  has  made  the 
grasshopper  a  burden. 

4.  Death  is  important  in  its.  consequences. 

If  we  close  the  journey  to  the  dark  valley  unsaved,  we 
are  lost  for  ever.  There  is  no  more  opportunity  for 
spiritual  improvement.  The  door  of  mercy  is  shut  for 
ever. 

n.  The  effect  the  anticipation  of  death  ought  to  pro- 
duce. 

1.  It  should  cause  us  seriously  to  examine  ourselves  to 
see  if  toe  are  prepared  to  tender  go  it.  No  one  can  enter 
the  country  beyond  the  river  without  a  passport  furnish- 
ed by  Jesus.  Now  is  the  time  to  obtain  it — this  is  the 
day  of  salvation.  With  this,  when  the  journey  is  over, 
Jesus  will  welcome  and  embrace  us  and  the  cross  will  be 
exchanged  for  the  crown. 

2.  The  consideratio7i  of  this  final  journey  ought  to 
stimulate  the  righteous  to  constant  ivatchfulness. 
*^  Watch,"  therefore  says  Jesus.  Have  your  lamps  well 
trimmed — your  armor  all  on  and  burnished  and  be  as  men 
waiting  for  their  Lord. 


^76  MEMORIAL    TRIBVTEb. 


THE  AGED  BELIEVER  IN  DEATH. 

DAVID  THOMAS,  D.D. 

By  faith  Jacob  when  Tie  was  a  dying,  blessed  both  the  sons  of  Joseph; 
and  worshipped,  leaning  on  iJie  top  of  his  staff. — Heb.  xi :  21. 

A  SPECIAL  interest  attaches  to  the  hist  acts  and 
■"^  words  of  one  who  has  long  been  prominent  in  a 
peo]3le's  history,  a  professed  believer  in  the  Saviour,  and 
whose  example  has  been,  and  will  be  influential.  Such  a 
man  was  Jacob.  "With  many  imperfections  he  had  noble 
virtues,  power  with  God,  and  the  eye  of  a  seer,  but  his 
end  has  come. 

Notice:  I.  His  dying  exercise.  He  blessed  his  grand- 
children and  worshipped.  He  was  not  regretting  his 
departure  from  the  world,  speaking  scornfully  about  the 
indifference  of  its  inhabitants,  lamenting  the  ingratitude 
and  neglect  of  his  children  and  friends,  and  filled  with 
fearful  forebodings  of  the  future.  He  invokes  God^s 
blessing  on  the  two  sons  of  Joseph.  His  heart  warm 
with  love  is  yearning  over  them,  and  longing  for  their 
spiritual  welfare,  and  those  who  may  succeed  them.  He 
remembered  his  own  God  and  the  God  of  his  fathers  wlio 
had  been  so  kind  to  him,  and,  filled  with  the  inspiration 
of  gratitude,  reverence  and  devotion,  he  supplicates  that 
this  same  God  may  ''bless  the  lads.'^ 

II.  His  dying  attitude  and  action.  He  "leans upon 
the  top  of  his  staff.^'  This  staff  served  to  support  his 
tottering  body.  Age  had  made  itself  felt  upon  his  once 
hardy  frame.  His  strength  was  departing.  He  was 
shivering  upon  the  dark  borders  of  the  grave,  and  the 
staff  was  needed  for  his  support.  Thus  does  time  bring 
upon  all  the  infirmities  delineated  by  Solomon  in  Eccles. 
xii.     But  while  leaning  thus,  liis  staff  would  recall  many 


OLD    AGE.  277 

of  the  incidents  in  his  varied  and  eventful  history.  It 
may  have  come  to  him  as  an  heirloom  from  his  grand- 
father Abraham.  It  may  have  been  the  same  staff  that 
he  took  with  him  from  his  father's  house  when  he 
started  a  boy  to  Padan  Aram.  It  may  have  been  the 
same  staff  that  he  handled  as  a  shepherd  when  tending 
the  flock  of  Laban  for  over  twenty  years.  It  may  have 
lain  by  his  side  when  he  slept  at  Bethel,  and  saw  that 
wondrous  vision  of  angels  on  the  ladder,  and  God  above 
it — promising  to  be  his  God,  and  Jacob  when  awaked 
promising  to  be  God's.  It  may  have  been  with  him 
when  he  wrestled  with  the  angel  at  the  brook,  and  also 
in  his  hand  when  he  stood  before  the  King  in  the  palace 
of  Egypt.  What  wonderful  memories  would  that  old 
staff  evoke.  What  associations  often  cluster  around  a 
tree,  a  stone,  an  old  arm-chair,  a  picture,  &c.  Each  is 
like  an  archangel's  trump  to  awake  the  buried  thoughts. 
How  natural  for  the  old  man  when  dying  to  have  this 
memento  of  his  life  with  him,  and  to  lean  upon  it  as 
upon  an  old  and  trusty  friend. 

How  delightful  the  exercise  in  which  he  engaged, 
•md  how  unselfish  the  spirit  he  now  manifested.  He 
seems  now  to  go  out  of  himself  to  others,  and  to  God. 
He  seems  wrapped  up  in  the  good  of  those  dearest  to 
him  on  Q^arth,  and  anxious  that  they  should  enjoy  God's 
favor,  doing  his  will,  and  being  prepared  for  an  everlast- 
ing companionship  in  Heaven.  The  God  upon  whom  he 
had  depended  all  his  life  now  seems  dearer  to  him  than 
ever.  He  ^worships  him  as  the  ever  adorable,  everlasting 
one  into  whose  immediate  presence  he  is  about  to  pass. 

The  only  way  to  die  like  Jacob — happy — blessing 
others,  and  worshipping  God  is  to  live  in  friendship  with 
relatives  now,  trusting  all  to  the  Elder  Brother,  and 
having  God  as  the  chief  joy. 


278  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 


DEATH  AND  THE  EESURREOTION. 

REV.  CANOK   HUGH  STOWELL. 

For  since  by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead. — 1  Cor.  15:  31. 

npHIS  is  the  Christian's  spiritual  pilhir  of  cloud  and 
fire,  on  the  one  side  so  dark,  on  the  other  so  bright, 
and  both  caused  by  man. 

I  The  curse  which  came  by  man.  ^' Death." 
How  terrible  is  death — how  fearful  his  ravages  ;  how 
unsparing  his  scythe  ;  how  universal  his  dissolutions. 
The  blight  of  earth — the  terror  of  man — the  tyrant  when 
none  can  bribe,  none  elude,  and  none  withstand. 
Whence  came  it  ?  Did  God  originate  it  ?  Was  it  in- 
volved in  his  workmanship  ?  No.  It  came  by  man,  by 
his  transgression — through  this  one  root  came  the  uni- 
versal taint  and  this  universal  curse — death,  spiritual, 
legal,  physical  and  eternal. 

1.  Spiritual  death  came  hy  man.  Man  when  created 
was  radiant  with  his  Maker's  image  and  instinct  with 
His  spirit.  His  soul  was  in  constant  fellowship  with 
Grod.  But  sin  separated  him  from  God — the  spirit  of 
God  abandoned  his  breast  leaving  him  dead  in. trespas- 
ses and  sins. 

2.  Legal  death  came  hy  man.  No  sooner  had  man 
disobeyed,  than  the  sentence  of  death  was  pronounced 
upon  him.  ''  By  the  offence  of  one,  judgment  came  upon 
all  men  to  condemnation."  The  execution  of  the  sen- 
tence is  suspended,  but  in  the  eye  of  the  Divine  law 
man  is  dead,  liable  to  eternal  wrath,  and  there  is  but  rhe 
breath  in  his  nostrils  between  him  and  the  death  that 
never  dies. 

3.  Physical  death  came  ly  man,     "Dust  thou  ^rt 


OLD    AGE.  279 

and  unto  dust  slialt  thou  return/'  is  written  on  each 
brow.  The  seeds  of  decay  are  sown  in  each  from  the 
first  vital  moment.  All  classes  and  ages  alike  are  swept 
into  tlie  dust,  generation  after  generation  like  the  leaves 
of  the  forest  in  the  Autumn  time. 

4.  Eternal  death  came  by  man.  An  infinite  God  re- 
quires a  2^orpetual  reparation  to  his  justice,  and  since  in 
this  world  of  woe,  there  is  no  remedial  power  or  process, 
sinning  on  the  lost  must  suffer  on,  everlasting  rebellion 
must  entail  everlasting  retribution.  The  thought  over- 
whelms us  with  horror  and  passes  all  comprehension. 

11.  The  blessing  which  came  by  man.  ^^Kesurrec- 
tion.'' 

If  infinite  justice  dealt  with  us  through  one  federal 
man  in  regard  to  our  probation,  it  has  no  less  dealt  with 
us  in  one  federal  man  in  regard  to  our  redemption,  so 
ihat  whosoever  beliveth  on  that  second  man,  the  Lord 
from  heaven,  shall  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life. 
In  Him  Emmanuel  ^^God  with  us''  condescended  to  in- 
corporate himself  with  poor,  dying,  ruined  humanity, 
that  he  might  lift  us  up  out  of  the  horrible  pit  into 
which  we  had  plunged  and  exalt  us  to  everlasting  life. 
As  man  He  suffered,  and  as  God  He  saves.  As  man  He 
died,  as  God  He  rose  victorious  from  the  grave,  and  be- 
came the  Author  of  spiritual  resurrection  to  every  man 
who  receives  him  as  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from 
heaven.  In  virtue  of  union  with  Him,  the  believer 
'^dies  from  sin  and  rises  again  unto  righteousness."  As 
truly  as  we  derive  from  the  first  Adam,  death,  temporal, 
spiritual,  eternal,  so  truly  from  Jesus,  we  derive  our 
spiritual,  our  legal,  our  eternal  life.  '*  Because  I  live, 
saitli  He,  ye  shall  live  also." 

What  \s,  death  then  when  divested  of  its  sting  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus  ?  What  is  the  dissolution  of  the  bod}^, 
when  it  is  in  sure  and  certain  hope  it  sleeps  ?    It  is  but 


280  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

a  peaceful  passage  home.  It  is  stript  of  its  terrors.  It 
has  no  power  to  hurt  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 
'^  Thanks  be  unto  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

To  crown  all,  by  man  came  the  resurrection  to  eternal 
life.  This  is  the  perfection  of  the  saint's  resurrection — 
raised  not  only  from  the  grave,  and  from  spiritual  death, 
but  raised  to  die  no  more,  and  to  have  perfect  consum- 
mation, and  bliss  with  Jesus  for  ever.  Surely  every 
redeemed  one  may  well  peal  forth  the  rapturous  anthem, 
*"'  Worthy  is  the  Lamb,  &c.'^ 

The  best  evidence  that  we  live  by  Him  is,  that  we 
live  to  Him.  Let  us  not  sorrow  for  our  sainted  sleeping 
ones,  as  others  that  have  no  hope.  Let  our  grief  be  ir- 
radiated with  hope — and  when  ^'  Christ  who  is  our  life 
shall  appear  we  shall  also  appear  with  him  in  glory." 


THE  WARFARE  AND  VICTORY. 

REV.  GEORGE   CLAYTON. 

Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem  and  cry  unto  lier  that  her  warfare 
is  accomplished. — Isa.  xl  :  3. 

'"pHIS  message  is  full  of  Christ.  It  was  intended  in 
the  first  place  as  a  prediction  of  the  liberation  of 
the  Israelites  from  the  yoke  of  Assyrian  bondage,  and  to 
the  deliverance  of  the  Jewish  church  from  the  bondage 
of  ceremonial  rites  and  legal  service  by  the  advent  of 
Christ,  and  by  the  establishment  of  his  glorious  kingdom. 
But  the  language  of  the  text  may  be  applied  to  the  ter- 
minaLion  of  any  state  of  anxiety,  hardship  and  grief,  to 
the  conclusion  of  the  believer's  life  in  this  sorrowful 
world,  which  is  a  warfare,  and  death  comes  to  him  with 


OLD    AGE.  281 

the  consolatory  message,  "  Thy  warfare  is  accomplished. " 
Observe  : 

I.  That  the  life  of  a  believer  in  this  world  is  a  war- 
fare. 

It  is  often  represented  in  scripture  by  this  form  of 
military  phraseology,  **  Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith/' 
^*  War  a  good  warfare,"  &c. 

1.  The  great  principle  of  the  conflict  is  faith  found- 
ed and  implanted  in  the  mind  by  a  supernatural  agency. 
No  man  will  ever  in  a  Christian  sense  contend  until  he  is 
constituted  a  true  believer,  united  by  a  living  faith  to 
Jesus.  Faith  puts  itself  into  an  attitude  of  resistance 
against  all  that  is  hostile  to  itself.  It  discovers  to  its 
possessor  many  adversaries,  both  within  and  without, 
everywhere,  in  all  conditions. 

2.  This  contention  will  be  continued  as  long  as  life 
lasts.  This  period  constitutes  the  campaign,  the  war- 
fare and  the  appointed  time.  The  conflict  must  be  sus- 
tained without  interruption,  truce  or  armistice  till  we 
come  to  the  vestibule  of  the  tomb. 

II.  The  hour  of  death  witnesses  the  accomplishment 
of  this  warfare. 

1.  Death  is  the  instrumental  means  of  separating  us 
from  our  connection  with  the  present  evil  world.  When 
death  comes  with  its  commission  signed  by  the  King  of 
Heaven  in  one  hand,  it  conies  with  a  label  inscribed 
with  these  words  in  the  other,  '^  Thy  warfare  is  accom- 
plished," a  separation  will  now  be  made  between  you  and 
the  elements  of  danger,  the  things  that  taint  the  eye, 
pollute  the  ear  and  endanger  the  heart. 

2.  Death  terminates  the  strife  of  sin  ;  puts  an  end  i 
the  contention.   What  placidity  reigns  upon  the  count 
nance  of  the    departed,  what  exemption    from  all  th;, 
formerly    kindled     the    passions,     awakened    the    evi 
principles  of  the  heart,  aiul  produced  a  grevious  conten- 


283  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

tion,  which  was  conducted  with  many  a  groan  and  pang 
in  the  secret  chambers  of  the  heart.  But  it  is  all  over 
when  the  stroke  of  death  falls. 

Death  confesses  the  believer  a  conqueror  over  himself, 
and  yields  the  palm  of  victory  at  the  moment  when  he 
inflicts  the  blow.  Death's  triumph  is  only  in  appear- 
ance, not  in  reality. 

"For  when  pale  death  has  lost  his  sting, 
He  wears  an  angel's  face." 

Nothing  then  remains  to  the  believer  but  one  unmix- 
ed and  everlasting  triumph. 

III.  The  consoling  and  exhilarating  qualities  of  this 
blessed  consummation.  '^  Speak  ye  comfortably,  &c.," 
for  the  following  reasons  : 

1.  When  the  warfare  ends,  the  rest  begins.  "  There 
remaineth  a  rest,  &c."  ''They  shall  enter  into  rest, 
(fee.'"  How  delightful  is  that  state  of  bliss  which  im- 
mediately succeeds  to  the  conflicts  of  time.  What  more 
acceptable  than  rest  to  the  weary  and  comfort  to  the 
sorrowing  ! 

2.  This  state  of  rest  is  also  a  state  of  peculiar  and 
inexpressible  delight.  It  is  a  joyful  rest — in  the  Father's 
house — where  Christ  is;  the  city  of  the  great  King, 
witli  all  the  ransomed  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect, ' 
and  all  the  holy  ones  before  the  throne.  Their  employ- 
ment as  well  as  their  society  is  joyfuL  They  keep  an 
everlasting  Sabbath.  Contemplate  the  face  of  i^ifinite 
perfection  and  beauty,  bask  in  the  rays  of  an  uncreated 
sun,  see  Christ  as  He  is,  and  are  made  perfectly  like 
Him. 

3.  This  felicity  is  evermore  increased.  Even  the 
cup  of  full  fruition  will  be  continually  enlarged.  As  the 
circle  of  eternal  ages  shall  roll  on,  the  minds  of  the  saved 


OLD    AGE.  2S3 

will  be  getting  nearer  and  nearer  to  God  and  making 
higher  advances  in  knowledge,  perfection  and  enjoyment. 

4.  This  felicity  will  bo  for  ever  and  without  end. 
"So  shall  we  be  ever  with  the  Lord."  *^  These  shall 
enter  into  life  eternal."  What  that  eternal  life  is,  what 
thought  can  conceive,  or  tongue  can  utter.  A  life  with 
God,  a  life  like  God's,  a  life  continually  tending  to  God, 
a  life  eternal  as  the  existence  of  God  Himself.  "Ever- 
lasting joy  shall  be  upon  their  heads." 

The  message  implies  nothing  comfortable  to  a  man 
out  of  Christ. 


HOPE  FOR  THE  SLEEPING  DEAD. 

WILLIAM   LAKDELS,    D.D. 

1  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  them  which 

are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not,  even  as  others  who 

have  no  Iwpe. — 1  Thess.  iv:  13. 

TTOW  sweet  and  beautiful  is  sleep  !  falling  "like  tired 
eyelids  upon  tired  eyes."  How  essential  to  nature  ! 
how  delightfully  refreshing  and  exhilarating  in  its  in- 
fluence!  Like  .other  common  blessings  undervalued 
because  always  enjoyed.  The  ancients  believed  it  to  be 
the  gift  of  the  gods,  and  the  Bible  tells  us,  "  so  He  giv- 
eth  His  beloved  sleep."  Poets  have  taxed  their  powers 
of  language  to  utter  its  eulogy.  Young's  description  of 
it,  is  "  tired  nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep."  And 
Mongomery  beautifully  says,  "  night  is  the  time  for  rest," 
etc.  It  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  transforming 
power  of  Christianity  that  it  converts  that  which  is  most 
repulsive  to  man  into  a  thing  so  beautiful  and  grateful 
as  sleep.  To  the  Christian  man,  death  is  but  sleep. 
This  is  the  term  most  frequently  employed  in  the 
]Syow   Testament  to  describe  the   condition  of   the   holy 


284  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

dead.  Thus  does  Christianity  strip  death  of  its  repul- 
siveness,  presenting  under  this  pleasing  image,  mingling 
pleasure  with  the  thoughts  of  the  departed,  calming  our 
minds  in  the  prospect  of  our  dissolution  and  converting 
our  burial  grounds  into  cemeteries,  where  after  life's  fit- 
ful fever  we  calmly  take  our  rest. 

I.  Death  may  be  so  called  because  of  the  peaceful 
nature  of  the  Christian's  death.  He  lies  down  to  die  calm- 
ly as  the  tired  laborer  to  take  his  nightly  rest,  whereby 
he  knows  he  will  gain  sweet  refreshment ;  or  like  the 
warrior  after  the  hard -fought  battle,  lays  aside  his  armor, 
wraps  his  cloak  around  him  and  lays  him  down  to  well 
earned  repose. 

II.  The  approach  of  death  is  often  silent  and  soft  as 
the  approach  of  sleep.  As  the  Aveary  man  when  he  lays 
his  head  on  his  pillow  sinks  imperceptibly  into  a  state  of 
slumber,  so  the  Christian  oftentimes  without  a  struggle, 
gradually  sinks  until  his  eyes  are  closed  to  earthly  things 
and  the  spirit  passes  into  God's  presence.  It  is  like  the 
melting  of  the  morning  star.  It  is  like  the  fading  away 
of  the  summer  cloud. 

III.  The  Christian's  death  resembles  a  sleep  because 
of  its  attractiveness.  'J'he  laborer  toiling  beneath  a 
burning  sun  sometimes  longs  for  the  shades  of  evening 
when  he  may  stretch  his  tired  limbs  and  lose  the  sense 
of  weariness  in  the  unconsciousness  of  sleep.  So  the 
Christian  many  a  time  longs  for  death,  because  earth 
is  a  place  of  incessant  conflict,  is  daily  losing  its  charms 
— and  heaven's  attractions  aie  continually  augmenting, 
there  he  will  rest,  be  with  loved  ones  and  with  Jesus. 

IV.  The  Christian's  death  may  be  compared  to  sleep, 
because  it  is  to  be  followed  by  an  awakening.  The 
heathen  might  have  no  hope  of  a  resurrection.  The 
Jew  might  but  dimly  see  the  shadow  of  the  resurrec- 
tion.    ]3ut  under  the  Christian  dispensation  the  resur- 


OLD    AOM.  285 

rection  is  to  the  humblest  belieyer  an  object  of  sure  and 
certain  hope.  Death  to  him  is  not  a  night  with  no 
morning  beyond,  but  a  night  which  ushers  in  the  morn- 
ing of  an  everhisting  day.  It  is  impossible  to  mis'take 
the  meaning  of  the  Saviour^'s  words.  *^  Marvel  not  at 
this,  &c."  And  the  Saviour's  own  resurrection  has 
broken  the  dominion  of  death  and  is  the  pledge  that 
those  v/ho  sleep  in  the  dust  shall  awake. 

V.  The  Christian's  death  may  be  compared  to  sleep 
because  of  the  repose  which  he  enjoys.  He  then  enters 
'Hhe  rest  which  remains  for  the  people  of  God.''  Life's 
fitful  fever  over,  ho  sleeps  well.  He  enjoys  the  rest  of 
wearied  humanity.  He  ''  rests  from  his  labors,"  no  more 
persecutions  from  sword  or  pen,  or  tongue,  no  more 
sorrow  or  disappointment,  no  more  warfare  with  sin 
within  or  Avithout,  with  Satan,  Tlie  struggle  is  over,  the 
battle  ended,  and  now  he  rests. 

VI.  The  Christian's  death  may  be  compared  to  sleep, 
because  of  its  refreshing  influences.  When  tliose  who 
sleep  in  Jesus  shall  wake  up  on  the  Resurrection  morn- 
ing they  will  appear  refreshed  and  changed — but  not  so 
changed  as  to  prevent  mutual  recognition.  The  wearied 
wasted  body  tliat  sank  into  the  grave,  shall  come  forth 
on  the  resurrection  morning  a  renovated  body,  blooming 
with  immortal  youth,  exempt  from  infirmities,  and  en- 
dowed with  unknown  strength.  As  the  laborer  awakes 
in  the  morning  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  previous 
day's  labor,  so  on  waking  from  the  sleep  of  death,  the 
Christian  shall  be  perfectly  free  from  all  the  consequences 
of  this  sinful  earthly  life.  His  soul  shall  be  wedded  to 
a  body  worthy  of  itself,  a  body  resembling  in  strength 
and  beauty  the  glorified  body  of  Christ. 

These  considerations  should  lead  us  : 
1.   To  moderate  our  grief  over  the  loss  of  those  friends 
who  sleejo  in  Jesus.     Christianity  does  not  require  us  to 


*28C  Memorial    tuibutes. 

be  stoics.  He  who  wept  on  tlie  grave  of  Lazarus  will 
not  frown  on  the  sorrows  of  the  bereaved.  But  we  should 
not  "  sorrow  as  those  who  have  no  hope."  Since  our 
friends  have  gone  to  be  with  Jesus,  and  we  shall  meet 
them  there. 

2.  To  contemplate  death  luith  less  fear  and  aversion 
than  is  generally  felt  toiuards  it.  There  is  something  re- 
pulsive m  the  article  of  death.  But  it  is  the  way  to  our 
Father's  house,  to  the  glorious  realities  that  await  us  in 
the  better  world. 

3.  To  renewed  animation  in  our  present  labors.  Pre- 
sent toil  will  sweeten  future  rest.  Present  work  done 
for  God  will  increase  the  reward  that  God  himself  will 
bestow  upon  us.  "  Be  not  weary,"  &c. — The  resting 
time  will  soon  come.  There  are  some  to  whom  death 
will  not  be  such  a  sleep.     Are  you  in  Christ  ? 


THE  DEATH  OF   THE   OLD. 

EEV.    THOMAS   BIX:N'EY. 

Tour  fathers  wTiereare  they?  and  the  prophets,  do  they  lixiefoT  eroerf 
Zech.  1:5. 

''pHESE  words  are  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and 
^  are  in  harmony  with  the  feelings  under  which  we 
have  assembled.     They  suggest  : 

I.  The  great  law  under  which  we  receive  and  possess 
existence — that  we  die  :  the  law  of  mortality  under  which 
we  were  born. 

All  men  die  aud  all  things  die.  It  could  not  well  be 
otherwise.  Where  there  is  vegetation  there  must  be  decay. 
Where  there  is  production  and  reproduction  there  must 
be  death.  And  had  man  continued  innocent  in  a  world 
in  which  the  species  was  to  increase  and  multi^ily,  there 


Old  AG  Is.  28? 

mast  of  necessity  have  been  some  mode  of  removal  ;  for 
a  limited  space  never  could  have  accommodated  indefinite 
numbers.  And  in  the  j^rocess  of  removal,  man  must 
have  been  changed,  translated,  transfigured,  and  made 
immortal.  Nature  and  animals  may  have  died  before, 
and  therefore  to  man  it  was  said,  but  '^ if  thou  eatest, 
lliou  also  Shalt  die." 

But  it  is  better  to  look  at  death  in  its  moral  and 
spiritual  aspects,  for  thus  it  is  commonly  represented  to  us 
in  the  Scriptures.  '^  Death  by  sin."  Death  is  the  shadow 
of  sin.  The  great,  dark,  black  substance,  we  call  sin, 
comes  between  man  and  the  bright  light  of  God's  coun- 
tenance, and  casts  its  shadow  over  man,  and  that  shadow 
is  death.  In  other  words,  it  is  the  symptom  of  a  deep- 
seated  disease.  God  applies  his  remedy  to  tlie  cure  of 
the  disease,  and  to  this  dark  substance,  and  the  symptom 
is  removed  and  tlie  shadow  disappears.     They  suggest : 

II.  The  amazing  power  of  the  principle  of  life. 
It  is  a  wonderful  thing,  that  a  human  body  with  its 
nice  and  delicate  organization  should  go  on  sleeping  and 
waking,  toiling  and  working  without  intermission  and 
without  rest  for  90  or  100  years.  No  piece  of  mechanism 
constructed  by  man  could  sustain  that  constant,  per- 
petual, uninterrupted  action  for  all  that  time.  But  the 
individual  man  previous  to  his  being  broken  up  and  laid 
aside  has  the  amazing  power  of  reproducing  himself 
many  times,  and  thus  though  the  individual  departs, 
they  are  left  his  representatives,  new,  fresh,  vigorous, 
to  carry  on  the  work  and  machinery  of  the  world.  The 
power  of  man,  then,  even  in  this  world  is  stronger  than 
death.  In  spite  of  all  that  death  does  and  all  that  man 
does  to  help  him  by  drunkenness  and  vice  and  war,  the 
species  increases  more  and  more,  so  that  if  death  begins 
with  a  generation,  and  goes  on  cutting  and  mowing  it 
down,  when  he  has  thus  gone  round  the  world  aud  comes 


2JS8  MmwniAL     TRtBUTKS. 

back  to  where  he  started,  there  is  a  greater  number  alive 
than  when  he  began. 

Such  is  the  great  and  wonderful  power  in  this  prin- 
ciple of  life,  and  thus  it  is,  that  in  a  certain  sense, 
death  is  continually  being  conquered  in  his  own  world. 
A  prediction  and  a  type  of  what  awaits  him  when  the 
words  of  scripture  shall  be  fulfilled,  that  *'  the  last 
enemy  "  shall  be  entirely  destroyed  and  "  mortality  shall 
be  swallowed  up  of  YvIq."    They  suggest  : 

III.  That  though  there  be  this  wonderful  power  in 
life,  old  age  in  general  is  not  in  itself  desirable.  Even 
when  comparative  wealth  can  procure  whatever  is  need- 
ful, and  make  old  age  tolerable  to  the  last,  yet  it  often 
happens,  that  old  age  is  only  an  additional  affliction  to 
the  ordinary  ills  of  life.  Nature  does  a  great  deal  in- 
dependent of  religion  to  bring  men  to  be  willing  to  die. 
For  where  there  is  no  religion,  and  no  **good  hope 
through  grace,"  and  no  trust  in  the  Divine  mercy  the 
language  and  feeling  of  the  man  often  is,  *^  I  would  not 
live  alway.^'  The  aged  man  stands  alone,  has  outlived 
his  friends,  his  capacity  of  forming  new  attachments — 
the  world  is  behind  him,  a  new  generation  has  sprung 
up  that  knows  him  not.  He  is  dependent,  surrounded, 
and  confined  to  a  little  circle  of  those  immediately 
about  him,  just  as  he  was  in  childhood.  The  aged  can- 
not sympathize  with  new  hearts  and  new  persons,  new 
modes  of  thought  and  feeling.  Hoav  different  in  this 
aspect  is  man  from  God,  who  has  fresh  and  young  affec- 
tion for  every  generation  as  it  comes,  and  who  can  look 
up  to  Him  with  the  same  cordiality  and  the  same  con- 
fidence as  the  first.     They  suggest  : 

IV.  That  death  of  a  very  aged  person  is  uncommon. 
It  is  extraordinary.  The  general  law  is  that  men  do  not 
all  die  at  one  particular  age.  There  is  no  fixed  date  up 
to  which  all  men  are  to  live  and  bovond  which  none  can 


OLD    AOM.  M 

survive.  This  would  have  been  intolerable,  inconsistent 
with  the  beneficent  arrangements  of  a  merciful  God.  He 
would  not  thus  poison  life.  But  the  price  wo  have  to 
pay  for  this  beneficent  arrangement  is,  that  we  must  be 
prepared  to  see  death  occur  at  all  ages,  under  all  circum- 
stances, tlie  most  affecting,  the  most  tender,  the  most 
tragical.  There  is  nothing,  therefore,  in  the  time  of  a 
person's  death  to  indicate  character,  or  the  condition  of 
their  future  state.  This  uncertainty  is  therefore  a  be- 
nevolent darkness  and  blessed  thing.  Few,  however,  live 
over  the  allotted  span  of  three  or  four  score  years.  They 
are  the  exceptions  to  the  general  law.    The  text  suggests: 

V.  That  there  are  limits  to  human  probation  and 
Divine  forbearance.  Israel  at  this  time  had  grown  re- 
miss, Degun  to  pour  contempt  on  God's  word  and  temple, 
and  God  had  somewhat  shown  his  displeasure  by  the  earth 
refusing  her  increase  and  the  heavens  their  dew,  and 
Zechariah  appeals  to  them,  that  there  must  be  a  limit  to 
disobedience  of  man  and  the  exhortations  of  God  ;  that 
the  agents  and  the  objects  of  the  Divine  mercy  eqnally 
die.  This  rebellion  on  your  part,  the  prophet  seems  to 
tell  them,  cannot  go  on  forever.  It  is  not  God's  way. 
''The  prophets,  do  they  live  for  ever?  And  your  fathers, 
Avhere  are  they  ?"  Dead.  Now  remember,  says  Zech- 
ariah, you  are  living  under  the  same  law.  Probation  has 
its  limits.  Forbearance  has  its  limits.  Time  and  oppor- 
tunity of  repentance  have  their  limits. 

We  should  lay  this  to  heart.  We  are  living  under  the 
same  law.  We  are  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  means 
of  grace  and  the  offer  of  salvation.  God  graciously 
comes  and  speaks  to  us  sending  in  the  word  and  in  the 
ministry  message  after  message,  prophet  after  prophet. 
But  it  must  come  to  an  end.  It  cannot  go  on  for  ever. 
Our  children  will  rise  up  and  look  back  into  the  dark, 
13 


290  MEMOPJAt      TRtnUTES. 

dim  past  mid  say,  they  were  ''  our  fathers,"  ''where  arc 
they  ?"  We  shall  be  gone.     They  suggest  : 

VI.  The  power  and  perpetuity  of  God's  truth  in  con- 
trast with  the  mortality  of  man.  The  prophets  may  die 
and  the  fathers  may  go  iu  like  manner,  but  the  utter- 
ances of  a  true  prophet  survive.  A  true  thought  is  a 
Divine  and  immortal  thing.  What  has  come  from  the 
mind  and  heart  of  God  lives,  has  power  in  it.  ''  The 
prophets,  do  they  live  for  ever  ?  But  my  words  and  my 
statutes,  &c.,''  all  will  come  to  pass  exactly  as  the  Lord 
had  said.  God^s  word  has  perpetual  strength  and  youth 
and  power.     It  never  grows  old  and  never  dies. 


THE  PEEISHING  AND  THE  ENDURING. 

REV.  CANON"  H.  P.    LIDDOK,  D.D. 

Tlie  grass  witliereth,  tJie  flower  fadeth  ;  hut  the  word  of  our  God  shall 
stand  for  ever. — Isaiah  xl :  8. 

TSAIAH  in  these  sublime  chapters  :  caches  the  very 
crown  and  flower  of  his  prophetic  work  ;  the  splen- 
did climax  of  a  great  whole.  The  text  is  uttered  by  the 
second  of  two  voices  spoken  to  Isaiah  as  if  out  of  the 
world  of  spirits. 

The  immediate  and  historical  purpose  of  these  words 
is,  undoubtedly,  to  reassure  the  Jcavs  of  the  captivity. 
They  were  in  Babylon  as  Isaiah  saw  them — saw  them 
across  the  centuries — far  from  their  home,  surrounded 
by  the  imposing  fabric  of  the  great  empire,  crushed  into 
silent  submission  by  its  force,  awed  at  times,  or  fascin- 
ated by  its  splendor.  It  seemed  so  much  more  solid,  so 
much  more  lasting  than  the  monarchy  of  David  had 
been,  they  could  not  think  that  it  would  perish. 

It  was  to  men  whose  eyes  were  resting  on  this  scene 


OLT)    AGS!.  Sfti 

of  magnificence  and  power  that  Isaiali  spoke  out  of  an- 
other land  and  out  of  an  earlier  age,  tlic  solemn  words 
'*  All  flesh  is  grass  and  all  the  beauty  thereof  is  as  the 
flower  of  the  field." 

"Was  it  possible  that  such  a  metaphor  couM  be  truly 
applied  to  the  city  and  throne  and  people  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar ?  Yes,  it  was  passing.  Isaiah  already  saw  the 
capture  of  the  city  by  a  Medo- Persian  army.  And  after 
the  conquest  of  Persia  by  the  Great  Alexander,  the  city 
ceased  to  be  in  any  sense  a  seat  of  empire.  It  became, 
in  fact,  for  many  centuries,  a  mere  quarry,  which  sup- 
plied the  materials  for  building  several  cities.  Every 
modern  traveller  tells  us,  now,  that  "the  beauty  of  the 
Chaldees  excellency,"  has  become  heaps — that  her  walls 
have  fallen  and  been  thrown  down  and  broken  utterly — 
that  her  very  site  is  a  wilderness,  that  the  wild  beasts 
of  the  desert  lie  there,  that  the  natives  regard  the  site 
as  haunted  by  evil  spirits,  so  that  neither  Avill  the  Arab 
pitch  tent,  nor  the  shepherd  fold  sheep  there,  that  in  a 
word,  prophecy  has  been  literally  fulfilled.  The  beauty 
of  human  life  is  this  :  for  many  a  century,  its  principal, 
its  representative  centre,  was  after  all  but  as  a  flower  of 
the  field.     "  The  grass  withereth,  &c." 

And  even  had  it  been  otherwise — had  Babylon  been 
chartered  with  the  promise  of  an  eternal  youth, 
Babylonians  would  have  died  one  after  another.  The 
individual  man  is  still  as  the  grass  which  withereth, 
even  if  the  polifical  society  to  which  he  belongs  were 
strictly  imperishable.  In  this  respect  there  was  no  dif- 
ference between  the  courtiers  and  officers  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar and  the  silent  captives,  who,  by  the  waters  of 
Babylon,  sat  down  and  wept  when  they  remembered 
Zion.  Of  both  it  was  true  that  ^^  the  grass  withereth  and 
the  flower  fadcth."     The  simile  has  a  two-fold  force. 

1.  It  justifies,  to  a  certain  extc-nt.  the  sympathy  with, 


292  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTB^S. 

the  admiration  of  human  life  with  its  freshness,  its 
variety,  its  beauty,  which  would  have  been  felt  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  by  captive  Israel. 

What  is  more  beautiful  that  a  single  blade  of  grass  ? 
There  it  is  waving  in  the  wind,  inimitable  in  its  form, 
in  the  grace  of  its  movement,  in  the  subtilty  and  deli- 
cacy of  its  texture.  We  cannot  reproduce  that  blade  of 
grass,  nor  even  really  imitate  it.  It  is  just  as  much  be- 
yond us  as  the  sun  itself.  How  mysterious  it  is  !  How 
little  really  we  know  about  it !  How  did  it  come  to  be 
there  ?  It  grew  from  a  seed.  Why  should  it  grow  ? 
What  do  we  mean  by  that  which  we  call  "growth." 
Growth  is  a  profound  unfathomable  mystery  moving  be- 
fore our  eyes  wherever  we  find  it.  It  implies  the  active 
energy  of  life.  We  share  this  power  of  growth  and  life 
with  the  humblest  blade  of  grass.  We  are  far  from 
being  dishonored  when  our  life  is  compared  in  Scripture 
to  a  thing  so  full  of  wonder  and  of  beauty. 

II.  Isaiah  refers  to  the  grass  as  an  emblem  of  the 
perishable  and  the  perishing. 

The  grass,  has  at  best,  a  vanishing  form,  ready,  al- 
most before  maturity,  to  be  resolved  into  its  elements — to 
sink  back  into  the  earth  from  which  it  sprang.  "The 
breath  of  the  Lord  has  blown  upon  it."  Death  does  not 
come  to  men,  animals  or  herbs  simply  in  consequence  of 
the  chemical  solvents  which  they  contain,  but  because  the 
Being  who  gave  them  life,  freely  withdraws  that  which 
he  gave.  Death  is  always  the  fiat  of  God,  arresting  the 
course  of  life.  This  truth  of  revelation  is  not  at  variance 
with  the  chemistry  of  animal  life.  Whatever  else  human 
life  is,  or  may  imply,  it  is  soon  over.  It  fades  away  sud- 
denly like  the  grass.  The  world  may  have  made  great 
progress  during  the  centuries,  but  the  frontiers  of  life  do 
not  change  with  the  generations  of  men.  We  are  born 
and  die  just  as  our  rudest  ancestors.     Every  one  of  us 


OLD    AGE.  393 

shall  die.  ''The  grass  withereth,  &c."  It  is  not  a  bit 
of  sentiment,  but  a  solid  law,  true  at  this  moment  and 
always  true.     But  : 

III.  *'  The  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever."  How 
do  we  know  that  ?  We  know  it  to  be  true  if  we  believe 
two  things— (1)  that  God  the  perfect  Moral  Bemg  ex- 
ists, (2)  that  He  has  spoken  to  man. 

If  God  is  eternal,  then  that  which  He  proclaims  as 
his  truth  and  will,  will  bear  on  it  the  mark  of  his 
eternity.  If  it  is  true  it  will  bear  the  impress  of  his 
faithfulness.  The  great  facts  of  Revelation,  clustering 
around  Jesus  Christ,  as  their  centre  and  substance,  do 
not  change,  because  they  rest  upon  the  authority  of  the 
unchanging  God.  There  is  something  that  does  not 
change.  It  is  still  wliat  it  was  when  we  were  young,  it 
is  what  it  will  be  when  we  are  laid  in  our  coffins.  It  is 
liks  God  Himself.  It  lasts.  IMen's  opinions  about  it 
may  change,  but  it  remains  what  it  was,  hidden,  it  may 
be,  like  a  December  sun— behind  the  clouds  of  specula- 
tion or  of  controversy— but  in  itself  unchanged,  un- 
changeable. ''Thy  word,  0  Lord,  endureth,  &c." 

Let  us  then  remember  these  two  truths,  "  The  grass 
withereth,  &c."  It  is  true  of  all  other  men,  it  must  be 
true  of  us.  We  may  read  the  solemn  truth  in  the  world 
around  us.  Every  age,  every  rank,  every  profession 
furnishes  the  proof.  Life  would  be  unendurable,  but 
for  the  second  truth.  "The  word  of  the  Lord  shall 
stand  forever."  What  then  is  the  object  of  my 
thoughts,  hopes,  affections,  conduct  ?  Is  it  this  perish- 
ing life,  which  must  so  soon  have  vanished  like  a  dream, 
which  is  so  perpetually  changing  ?  or,  is  it  the  unchang- 
ing eternal  word  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever  ? 

That  great  question,  that  cpiestion  of  questions,  be- 
tween the  gra^s  that  witlicreth,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  wo-d  that  sliall  stun  1  for  ever  on  the  other,  must  be 


294  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

answered.  Let  each  answer  for  himself  ere  he  takes 
another  step  on  the  brief  journey  across  the  fields  of 
time  towards  the  gate  of  the  eternal  world. 


ASLEEP  IN  JESUS. 

THEODORE  L.  CUTLER,  D.D. 

For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died,  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also 
which  sleep  in  Jesus,  will  God  bring  with  him. — 3  TnESS.  4 :  14. 

^0  Scriptural  description  of  death  is  so  suggestive  and 
so  consoling  as  that  which  is  conveyed  by  the  fa- 
miliar word  sleej?.  It  recurs  often.  Stephen  the  martyr 
breathes  his  sublime  prayer,  and  then  "  he  fell  asleep." 
Our  Lord  said  to  His  disciples  :  *'  Our  friend  Lazarets 
sleepeth :  hut  I  go  that  I  may  awalce  Mm  out  of  sleeiJ." 
Paul,  in  that  transcendently  sublime  chapter  on  the  resur- 
rection, treats  deatli  as  but  the  transient  slumber  of  the 
body,  to  be  followed  by  the  glorious  awakening  at  the 
sound  of  the  last  trumpet.  And  then  he  crowns  it  with 
the  voice  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  that  marvelous  utterance 
which  has  been  said,  and  sobbed,  and  sung  in  so  many  a 
house  of  bereavement  :  "  /  loould  not  have  you  to  le  ig- 
norant concerning  them  which  are  asleep  ;  for,  if  we  be- 
lieve that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also 
which  sleep  in  Jesus  loill  God  hring  loith  Him."  No 
three  words  are  inscribed  on  more  tombs  or  on  more 
hearts  than  these,  '^Asleep  in  Jesus." 

These  declarations  of  God's  Word  describe  death  as 
simply  the  temporary  suspension  of  bodily  activities. 
Not  a  hint  is  given  of  a  total  end,  an  extinction,  or  an 
annihilation.  The  material  body  falls  asleep,  the  im- 
mortal spirit  being,  meanwhile,  in  full  activity  ;  and 
(he  time  is  piedictec]  when  the  body,  called  up  from  the 


OLD    AGE.  205 

tomb,  shall  reunite  with  tlic  deathless  spirit,  and  the 
man  shall  live  on  through  eternity.  What  we  call  dying 
is  only  a  momentary  process.  It  is  a  flitting  of  the  im- 
mortal tenant  from  the  frail  tent  or  tabernacle,  which 
is  so  often  racked  with  pain  and  waxes  old  into  decay. 
Paul  calls  it  a  departure  :  ''To  deimrt  and  be  with 
Christ."  The  spiritual  tenant  shuts  u])  the  window  of 
the  earthly  house  ere  he  departs.  We  kiss  the  brow,  and 
it  is  marble.  The  beloved  sleeper  is  sleeping  a  sleep 
that  thunders  or  earthcpiake  cannot  disturb.  But 
what  is  there  in  this  slumber  of  the  body  that  suggests 
any  fear  that  the  ethereal  essence  of  the  spirit  has  be- 
come extinct,  or  even  suspended  its  activities  ?  When 
the  mother  lays  her  darling  in  its  crib,  she  knows  that 
sleep  simply  means  rest,  refreshment,  and  to-morrow 
morning's  brighter  eye,  nimbler  foot,  and  the  carol  of 
a  lark  in  her  nursery. 

They  who  die  in  Jesus  live  a  larger,  fuller,  nobler 
life,  by  the  very  cessation  of  care,  change,  strife,  and 
struggle.  Above  all,  they  live  a  fuller,  grander  life,  be- 
cause they  '  sleep  ^^^  Jesus'  and  are  gathered  into  His 
embrace,  and  wake  wath  Him,  clothed  with  white  robes, 
awaiting  the  adoption — to  wit,  the  redemption  of  the 
body."  In  God's  good  time,  the  slumbering  body  shall 
be  resuscitated  and  shall  be  ''fashioned  lihe  to  Chrisfs 
glorious  body  " — i.  e.,  it  shall  be  transformed  into  a  con- 
dition which  shall  meet  the  wants  of  a  beatific  soul  in  its 
celestial  dwelling-place.  Verily  with  this  transcendent 
blaze  of  revelation  pouring  into  the  believer's  death- 
chamber  and  his  tomb,  we  ought  not  to  sorrow  us  they 
that  have  no  hope. 

In  this  view  of  death  (which  is  God's  own  view)  how 
vivid  becomes  the  Apostle's  exclamation:  "  I  am  confi- 
dent, and  willing  rather  to  be  absent  from  the  body  ami 
to  bejjresent  with  the  Lord."    Paul  was  entirely  willing 


296  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

that  the  old,  scarred,  and  weary  body  might  be  pat  to 
sleep,  so  that  he  might  go  home  and  be  present  with  his 
Lord.  Then  mortality  would  be  swallowed  up  of  life. 
Gro  to  sleep,  poor,  old,  hard-worked  body,  the  Apostle 
seems  to  say,  and  Jesus  will  wake  thee  up  in  good  time, 
and  tliou  shalt  be  "  made  like  to  the  lody  of  His  glory ^ 
according  to  the  tvorking  wherely  He  subdues  all  things 
unto  Himself." 

Let  us  not  be  charged  with  pushing  this  Scripture 
simile  too  far,  when  we  hint  that  it  illustrates  the  different 
feelings  with  which  different  persons  regard  the  act  of 
dying.  When  we  are  sleepy,  we  covet  the  pillow  and  the 
couch.  Even  so  do  we  see  aged  servants  of  God,  who 
have  finished  up  their  life-work,  and  mauy  a  suffering 
invalid,  racked  with  incurable  pains,  who  honestly  long 
to  die.  They  are  sleepy  for  the  rest  of  the  grave  and  the 
home  beyond  it.  For  Christ  here,  tvith  Christ  yonder, 
is  the  highest  instinct  of  the  Christian  heart.  The  noble 
missionary,  Judson,  phrased  it  happily  when  he  said : 
'  ^  I  am  not  tired  of  my  work,  neither  am  I  tired  of  the 
world  ;  yet,  when  Clirist  calls  me  home,  I  shall  go  with 
the  gladness  of  a  boy  bounding  away  from  school.''  He 
wanted  to  toil  for  souls  until  he  proved  sleepy,  and  then 
he  wanted  to  lay  his  body  down  to  rest  and  to  escape 
into  glory. 

A  dying-bed  is  only  the  spot  where  the  material  frame 
falls  asleep.  Then  we  take  up  the  slumbering  form,  and 
gently  bear  it  to  its  narrow  bed  in  Mother  Earth.  Our 
very  word  "^  cemetery''  describes  this  thought.  It  is  de- 
rived from  the  Greek  word  KoiiirjxijpLov  {hoimeterion) ,  which 
signifies  a  sleeping-place.  It  is  a  mingled  and  promis- 
cuous sleeping-place ;  but  the  Master  "  hnoiueth  them 
that  are  His.''  They  who  sleep  in  Him  shall  awake  to 
be  for  ever  with  the  Lord. 

On  i\m  t4'(?mendous  question  of  the  resun-ection  of 


OLD     AGE.  297 

our  loved  ones,  and  our  reunion  with  them,  our  yearning 
hearts  are  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than  certainty 
We  demand  absolute  certainty,  and  there  'arc  just  two 
truths  that  can  give  it.  The  first  one  is  the  actual  fact 
of  Christ's  own  resurrection  from  the  death-slumber  ; 
the  second  is  His  omnipotent  assurance  that  all  they  who 
sleep  in  Him  shall  be  raised  up  and  be  Avhere  He  is  for 
evermore.  Tho.'ie  early  Christians  were  wise  in  their 
generation  when  they  carved  on  the  tomb  of  the  martyrs 
^'  In  Jesu  Christo  oMormiv  it /'—In  Jesus  Christ  he  fell 
asleep. 

The  fragrance  of  this  heavenly  line  perfumes  the  very 
air  around  the  believer's  resting-place.  Giving  to  the 
Latin  word  its  true  pronunciation,  there  is  sweet  melody, 
as  well  as  Heaven-sent  truth,  in  this  song  of  the  sleepers: 

**0h!  precious  tale  of  triumph  this  I 

And  m:irtyr-blood  shed  to  achieve  it, 
Of  suffering  past — of  present  bliss. 
^ In  Jesu  Christo  oddormivit.'* 

"  Of  cherished  dead  be  mine  the  trust, 
Thrice-blessed  solace  to  believe  it. 
That  I  can  utter  o'er  their  dust, 
^  In  Jesu,  Christo  ohdormimt.'' 

**  Now  to  my  loved  one's  grave  I  bring 
My  immortelle  and  interweave  it 
With  God's  own  golden  lettering, 
*  In  Jesu  Christo  oMormivit.'' " 


The  brightest  bow  we  only  trace 
Upon  the  darkest  skies. 

Frances  Ridley  Bavergal. 


298  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 


THE  GATES  OF  DEATH. 

DAVID   THOMAS,  D.D. 

Have  the  gates  of  death  been  opened  unto  thee  ?  or  Tiast  thou  seen  the 
doors  of  the  shadow  of  death  ? — Job  xxxviii  :  14. 

nPHESE  remarkable  words  are  part  of  a  wonderfully 
sublime  address,  which  God  delivered  to  Job 
amidst  the  rush  and  war  of  an  eastern  Avhirlwind.  The 
long,  earnest  and  unsatisfactory  debate  which  had  been 
carried  on  between  the  patriarch  and  his  friends  touch- 
ing the  government  of  God  was  thus  terminated  with 
an  awfully  grand  abruptness.  In  these  communications  of 
the  Almighty,  He  does  not  condescend  to  propound  a 
solution  of  the  difficulty  which  had  per2:)lexed  their 
judgment  and  engrossed  their  discussion. 

He  gives  no  explanation  of  his  doings,  but  the  grand 
aim  of  his  appeal  is  to  impress  the  importance  and  duty 
of  confidence  in  His  character.  Man,  intellectually,  is 
too  small  to  comprehend  his  doings.  A  firm  unshaken 
trustfulness,  therefore,  is  at  once  his  duty  and  interest. 

Among  the  many  things  He  appeals  to  in  order  to 
impress  Job  with  his  insignificance,  as  compared  with 
his  Maker,  is  the  dark  region  of  death  expressed  in  our 
text  : — ''  Have  the  gates  of  death,  &c.^'  The  allusion 
here  is  to  the  state,  which  in  the  Hebrew  is  called  Slteol, 
and  in  the  Greek  Hades;  which  means  the  dark  abode 
of  the  dead — the  deep,  dark,  vast  realm  to  which  all 
past  generations  are  gone — to  which  all  the  present  gen- 
eration is  going  and  whither  all  coming  men  up  to  the 
day  of  doom  will  proceed.  Tlie  ancients  supposed  this 
region  to  be  underground,  entered  by  the  grave,  and  en- 
closed by  gates  and  bars. 

This  Divine  appeal  suggests  four  things  : — - 


OLD    AOE.  299 

I.  The  mental  darkness  which  enshrouds  us.     All  the 

phenomena  of  the  heavens,  the  earth  and  the  multiform 
operations  of  the  Creator  referred  to  in  this  Divine  ad- 
dress, were  designed  and  fitted  to  impress  Job  with  the 
necessarj^  limitation  of  his  knowledge,  and  the  ignorance 
which  encircled  him  on  all  questions.  Tlie  region  of 
death  is  but  one  of  the  many  points  to  which  he  is 
directed  as  an  example  of  his  ignorance. 

How  ignorant  we  are  of  the  great  workl  of  departed 
men  !  What  a  thick  veil  of  mystery  enfolds  the  whole  ! 
What  questions  often  start  within  us  to  which  we  can 
give  no  satisfactory  reply,  either  from  philosophy  or  the 
Bible  !  We  should  be  thankful  that  we  are  left  in 
ignoiance  : 

1.  Of  the  exact  condition  of  each  individual  i7i  that 
great  and  ever-groiui7ig  realm.  In  general,  the  Bible 
tells  us  that  the  good  are  happy  and  the  v/icked  miser- 
able. This  is  enough.  We  would  have  no  more  light. 
We  would  not  know  all  about  those  we  have  known  and 
loved  ;  we  would  not  know  the  exact  pursuits  they  are 
following  and  the  exact  thoughts  and  emotions  that  cir- 
culate in  an  incessant  flow  through  their  souls.  If  we 
sav/  them  as  they  are,  should  we  be  fit  to  enjoy  the  few 
days  of  this  brief  life  or  to  perform  its  duties  ?  We 
sliould  stand  paralyzed  at  the  vision.  We  are  thankful 
that  we  are  left  in  ignorance  : 

2.  Of  our  exact  proximity  to  the  great  realm  of  the 
departed.  Wc  would  not  have  the  day  or  the  hour  dis- 
closed. The  men  to  whom  the  day  of  death  was  made 
known  Avere  confounded.  Saul  heard  from  Samuel,  &c., 
Peter  told  Sapphira,  &c.  Who  if  he  knew  it  would 
undertake  any  enterprise  ?  Would  i\Ioses  have  under- 
taken the  guidance  of  tlie  Israelites,  if  he  liad  known 
that  neither    lie  nor  they  would    cross   the    Jordan  ? 


300  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

Would  Jonathan    have   ascended  Gilboa  ?    David,   &c. 
Let  us  be  grateful  for  this  ignorance. 
The  Divine  appeal  suggests  : — 

II.  The  solemn  change  that  awaits  us.  ''  The  gates  " 
have  not  been  opened  to  us,  1)nt  must.  Speaking  of 
death  according  to  the  figure  before  us,  we  observe  : 

1.  The  gates  are  in  constant  motion.  No  sooner  are 
they  closed  to  one  than  another  enters.  It  is  computed 
that  one  entca-s  every  moment. 

2.  The  gates  open  to  all  classes.  There  are  gates 
which  are  to  be  entered  only  by  persons  of  distinction  ; 
but  here  are  kings  and  beggars,  &c. 

3.  The  gates  open  only  one  way — into  eter7iity.  We 
have,  it  is  true,  an  account  of  a  few  that  have  come  back. 
But  only  one  who  had  not  to  go  that  way  again.  No 
coming  back.  Job  vi  :  7-13.  ^'  They  shall,"  says  Job, 
*^  return  no  more.^^  Hezekiah.  David  said,  '^I  shall  go 
to  him,  &c."  We  should  rejoice  in  this.  We  would  not 
have  the  good  back  again,  nor  the  bad.  The  Caesars, 
the  Alexanders,  the  Napoleons,  back  again  !  No  !  Thank 
God  for  death. 

4.  The  gates  separate  the  probationary  from  the  retri- 
tutionary.  When  we  pass  those  gates  what  do  we  leave 
behind  ?  on  what  do  we  enter. 

5.  The  gates  are  under  supreme  authority.  There  is 
one  Being  who  can  open  them.  Not  accident,  &c.  The 
Divine  appeal  suggests  : 

III.  The  wonderful  mercy  that  preserves  us. 

1.  We  have  always  heen  near  those  gates.  We  dwell 
in  houses  of  clay. 

2.  Tliousancls  have  gone  through  since  we  began  the 
journey  of  life.     Younger  and  better  too. 

3.  We  have  often  been  made  to  feel  ourselves  near,  (a) 
In  personal  affliction.  We  have  felt  tlic  cold  breeze 
coming  up  freezing  ilie   temple  and  chilling  the  blood. 


OLi)    AGE.  801 

(b)  In  bereavements  while  we  have  stood  by  holy  death- 
beds we  have  felt  the  aroma  wafted  from  the  lovely  scenes 
on  the  other  side.  *^The  Lord  is  not  slack  concerning 
his  promise  as  some  men  count  slackness."  The  Divine 
appeal  suggests: 

IV.  The  service  Christianity  renders  us. 

1.  It  assures  us  there  is  life  on  the  other  side  the  gates. 
In  stepping  through  them,  we  do  not  step  into  black 
extinction.  So  much  light  as  this,  the  old  philosophers 
never  reached. 

2.  It  assures  us  there  is  blessedness  on  the  other  side 
tlie  gates.  It  opens  the  door  of  the  future  and  shows  us 
a  world  of  men  in  heaven,  ^^I  saw  a  great  multitude/' 
&c. 

*'  They  live,  the  beautiful,  the  dead, 
Like  stars  of  fire  above  our  head." 

3.  It  talces  aiuay  the  instinctive  repugnance  we  feel  in 
stepping  through  those  gates. 

""  It  delivers  those  Vv^ho  through  fear  of  death  are  all 
their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage."  It  takes  the  sting  of 
death  away,  &c. 

Friends,  you  must  soon  pass  through  these  gates. 
You  are  very  near  them  now.  ''  What  is  your  life  ?  A 
vapor,''  &c. — the  flitting  rays  of  a  meteor.  With  the 
first  breath  you  drew  you  took  a  step  towards  those  gates, 
and  thither  you  have  been  wending  ever  since. 

"  Your  hearts,  like  muffled  drums, 

Are  beating  funeral  marches  to  the  grave." 

I  would  not  lessen  the  pleasures  of  young  life.  I 
would  not  cool  your  blood,  nor  throw  one  shade  over 
those  bright  and  glowing  prospects  which  imagination 
pictures  ;  but  I  would  have  you  take  life  as  it  is  and 


^00  MEMOnTAL     TRIBUTES. 

enjoy  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  Enjoy  it>  as  I  have  often 
enjoyed,  on  my  native  mountains,  the  setting  of  a  sum- 
mer's sun.  The  streaks  of  glory  which  played  upon  the 
western  sky,  as  the  great  orb  Avent  down  hi  blazing 
splendor,  kindled  witliin  me  unutterable  emotions  of 
delight,  yet,  I  felt,  as  I  admired,  that  the  magnificent 
scene  would  soon  vanish,  and  all  above  and  below  would 
be  darkness. 

*'  Time  is  a  Prince  whose  resistless  sway, 
Everything  e:irlhly  must  needs  obey, 
The  aim  of  war,  and  the  tyrant's  frown, 
And  the  shepherd's  crook  and  the  conqueror's  crown. 
Palaces,  pyramids,  temples,  towers, 
With  the  falling  leaves  and  the  fading  flowers, 
And  the  sunset's  flush  and  the  rainbow's  ray 
At  the  touch  of  Time  are  passing  away." 


JOB'S    TESTIMONY    ABOUT    HIMSELE    AS    A 
BELIEVER. 

THOMAS    GUTHRIE,  D.D. 
"And  tliough  after  my  skin  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh 
shall  1  see  God  ;   Whom  1  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall 
behold,  and  not  another;   though  my  reins  be  consumed  within  me. 
— JoBxix:  2G,  27. 

'T^HIS  is  the  testimony  which  the  patriarch  has  to  give 
concerning  himself. 
I.  Job's  faith  was  Ms  own ;  intensely  personal  and  ap- 
appropriating  :  "I  know  that  ??2?/ Redeemer  liveth^' — 
not  Adam's,  Abel's  or  Noah^s  Redeemer,  not  merely  'Hhe 
Redeemer  of  God's  elecf — but  '^^  my  Redeemer.-"  Less 
than  this  would  have  been  less  than  the  faith  ^'that  over- 
cometh  ;"  and  the  bearer  of  a  Gospel  too  stinted  to  war- 
rant this  would  have  been  to  him  the  most  miserable  of 


OLD    AGE.  ^03 

all  his  '' miserable  comforters/'  Such  little  words  as 
'*  my ''  are  the  life  and  nerve  of  faith's  vocabulary,  flis 
health  and  wealth,  &c.,  were  gone.  His  only  hold  was 
then  to  cling  to  the  Redeemer  as  his  Oiuriy  his  One,  his 
All ;  and  to  Him  he  clung  as  with  a  death's-grasp,  with 
the  tenacity  of  true,  appropriating  personal  faith,  while 
his  nearest  and  dearest  abandoned  him,  wliile  his  depend- 
ents reviled  him,  and  the  wreck  of  his  wonted  grandeur 
lay  strewn  all  around  him. 

Thus  did  Job.  Thus  let  us  do.  Our  warrant  is  not 
what  we  find  in  ourselves  as  better  than  others,  or  even 
as  better  than  our  former  selves,  but  in  the  precious  Gos- 
pel truth  that  God  is  to  us  "the  God  of  peace  ''  as  the 
God  and  Father  and  gracious  Giver  of  that  divine-human 
Redeemer  '^  who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,"  and 
therefore  for  us.  In  the  pure  effulgence  of  this  "glorious 
Gospel  of  the  blessed  God,''  in  "  words  legible  only  by 
the  light  they  give,"  without  any  reflex  or  circuitous 
regard  to  our  own  experiences,  which  would  only  stir 
dust  before  our  eyes,  faith  sees  in  Jesus  all  it  wants,  and 
straightway  exclaims  with  Job,  "J/?/  Redeemer  !" — with 
Thomas,  "My  Lord  and  mij  God!"— with  Paul,  "  He 
loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me  !"  And  with  the  sweet 
singer  of  Israel,  and  the  true  and  good  of  all  times,  who 
never  tire  of  harping  on  that  same  string. 

II.  Job's  faith  had  a  strength  and  consistency  that 
nmowwiQdi  to  knowledge.  "I  Jcnoiu  that  my  Redeemer 
liveth,"  not  I  trust,  I  hope,  or  even  I  believe,  but  "  I 
know."  "  If  we  receive  the  witness  of  man,  the  witness 
of  God  is  greater."  For  this  reason,  and  because  that 
witness,  or  Gospel  testimony,  is  so  self-luminous,  and  so 
adapted  to  our  case,  the  faith  of  it  is  called  in  the  Scrip- 
ture not  only  the  belief  but  "  the  knoiuJedge  of  the  truth." 
And  the  favorite  language  of  truth  has  ever  been  "  I 
Tcnozv."     Thus  Martha,  "  I  know/'  &c.     Thus  Paul  says. 


§04  MEMOniAL     TJRIBtJTBS. 

"  I  know,''  &c.,  and  in  tlie  same  way  Job  here  says,  ^'  1 
know  tliat  my  Eedeemer  liveth.'^  Of  all  knowledge  that 
is  the  deepest,  the  best,  and  the  last. 

Ah,  how  many,  on  this  vital  theme,  have  failed  to  rise 
above  the  foggy  horizon  of  vague  and  half-whispered  hopes 
to  the  spiritual  empyrean  where  faith  becomes  knowledge. 
These  vague  hopes  may  suffice  wiiile  fair  weather  lasts, but 
the  storm,  though  far  less  violent  than  that  which  beat 
on  Job,  will  snap  them  like  a  spider's  web.  What  will  it 
avail?  ^^  By  faith  we  stand.''  '^By  faith  we  walk." 
By  faith  we  run,  "looking  unto  Jesus."  By  faith  we 
triumph,  for  the  conflict  is  a  "fight  of  faith,"  and  this  is 
the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith." 
We  "overcome  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,"  or 
through  faith  in  the  Redeemer  and  His  ransom.  Such 
power  lies  in  the  watchword,  "  I  know  in  whom  I  have 
believed." 

III.  It  is  thus  already  manifest  that  Job's  faith  was 
of  a  fibre  that  wiis proof  agai7ist  all  earthly  trial,  even  to 
the  last  and  worst.  Never  was  man  so  tried  as  he,  ex- 
cept his  Antitype,  "  the  Man  of  Sorrows."  This  very 
chapter  contains  an  effecting  recital  of  his  woes,  culmin- 
ating in  the  most  plantiff  of  cries  (see  verses  14-19,  21). 
His  barque  was  fast  foundering ;  but  to  him,  as  to  the 
disciples  long  after,  the  form  of  the  Redeemer  appeared 
walking  on  the  crest  of  the  billow.  With  the  eye  of 
faith  he  saw  him  ;  with  the  ear  of  faith  he  heard  His  as- 
suring word,  "  It  is  I ;  be  not  afraid."  And  with  the 
grasp  of  faith  he  clung  to  Him  ;  not  like  the  sinking 
Peter,  with  the  distracted  cry,  "Lord  save  me,  I  perish  !" 
but  in  the  collected  repose  of  his  own  assured  faith,  "  I 
know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth."  He  well  knew  that 
the  hand  that  smote  must  be  the  hand  to  heal. 

IV.  It  was  a  faith  that  triumphed  over  the  fear  of 
death ;  for,  in  Job's  belief,  death  was  near.     The  breath 


.  OLD    AGE.  305 

of  the  grim  king  was  already  freezing  his  vitals.  His 
wasted  frame  seemed  to  him  as  ready  for  the  grave  as 
the  grave,  he  said,  was  ready  for  it.  It  was  an  out- 
worn vesture  of  flesh  which  fell  disease  had  rent.  His 
malady  had  overspread  his  body  with  an  envelopment  of 
angry  sores,  whose  corroding  action,  he  liere  tells  us,  had 
left  him  no  skin  except  the  enamel  of  his  teeth.  But 
his  faith  remained.  His  consciousness  of  integrity — 
"that  column  of  true  majesty  in  man" — was  as  erect 
and  stable  as  ever.  He  knew  that  his  Eedeemer  lived, 
and  would  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth. 
Hence  he  nobly  adds  :  "Though  after  my  skin,  worms 
destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God." 

What  an  animating  example.  In  Job  we  have  the  lot 
of  man  in  its  extremes — in  its  best  estate,  and  in  its 
worst.  "  Look  on  this  picture  and  on  this  :"  on  Job 
the  prosperous,  and  Job  the  abject.  Once,  kings  might 
have  stood  awed  in  his  presence,  or  fallen  at  his  feet, 
and  asked  his  patriarchal  benediction  ;  now,  none  so  poor 
"to  do  him  reverence."  Compare  chapter  xxix  :  7-11 
with  chapter  xix  :  13-22.  Left  alone,  yet  able  to  say 
with  his  Eedeemer,  "I  am  not  alone,  for  my  Father  is 
Avith  me,"  he  turns  from  earth  to  heaven,  from  man  to 
God.  Such  a  time  must  one  day  come  to  us  all.  Happy 
will  it  be  if  it  then  finds  us  triumphant  with  a  faith  like 
Job's.     "  Death's  terror  is  the  mountain  faith  removes."' 

V.  The  patriarch's  faith  assured  him  of  eternal 
blessedness  with  God,  beyond  death  and  the  grave. 

First,  it  embraced  the  ivimortality  of  the  soul,  and 
its  separate  and  happy  existence  after  death.  Instead  of 
the  expression,  "^?^  my  flesh,"  in  ver.  26,  we  prefer  the 
marginal  rendering  ^'  out  of  my  flesh." 

I  do  not  think  it  is  the  Eesurrection  that  is  here 
spoken  of,  but  Christ's  Incarnation — not  His  second 
coming,  but  His  first.     The  other  sense  is,  that  Job,  no 


yoo  MEMORIAL     TIUBVTEH. 

longer  in  his  flesh,  but  out  of  it,  in  his  disembodied  state 
(the  body  being  now  in  the  grave),  should,  in  his  free 
emancipated  spirit,  see  God  in  heaven.  In  other  words, 
when  death  came — and  Job  felt  already  as  one  standing 
face  to  face  with  death — and  when  his  body  should  go,  as 
his  skin  had  gone  before  it,  into  decay  and  dissolution, 
still  there  remained  his  nobler  part,  his  deathless  soul, 
which,  as  spirit  with  spirit,  should  be  blessed  along  with 
the  redeemed  in  the  pure  and  celestial  vision  of  God. 

Secondly,  Job  anticipates  with  rapture  that  he  would 
then  see  God  to  be  on  his  side.  Many  and  grievous  were 
the  charges  his  harsh  friends  had  brought  against  him  ; 
he  appealed  from  them  all  to  his  Divine  Friend  in 
Heaven.  As  he  says  elsewhere,  ''My  record  is  in 
Heaven,  my  witness  is  on  high."  The  God  whom  I  am 
about  to  see,  when  I  escape  from  this  wretched  flesh.  He 
will  "  bring  forth  my  judgment  to  the  light,  and  my 
righteousness  as  the  noonday."  Now  where  does  Job 
express  this  ?  In  verse  27,  when  rightly  rendered,  in  the 
triumphant  words  :  ''  Whom  I  shall  see  to  be/or  me,  and 
not  agai7ist  me."  The  expression  then  is,  "  Whom  I  shall 
see  to  be  for  me,  and  not  to  be  a  stranger  or  enemy  to 
nie  " — that  is,  ''  Whom  I  shall  find  to  be  on  my  side,  and 
not  like  you,  my  harsh  friends,  to  be  against  me."  Ah, 
what  a  precious  hope,  what  a  glorious  alternative  !  "  If 
God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?" 

It  only  remains  to  observe,  finally,  that  Job's  hopes  of 
bliss  all  pointed  to  the  glorious  vision  of  God,  whom  he 
expected  to  see  as  his  highest  good,  his  reward,  his  ex- 
ceeding joy,  his  God,  his  guide,  his  portion  for  ever. 
This  constitutes  the  heaven  of  heaven  that  God  is  there, 
that  Christ  is  there,  that  the  Divine  Spirit  is  there,  that 
the  Three-One  God  of  Salvation  is  specially  and  ever- 
lastingly there.  Happy  place,  and  happy  patriarch  who 
felt  sure  of  it,  and  of  soon  being  m  it !     And  happy  the 


oit)  Aon.  m 

poorest  and  most  toilworn  and  care-striken  of  men  who, 
while  sharing  with  Job  in  his  trials,  shares  also  his  faith  ; 
knows  his  Eedeemer ;  knows  that  He  has  died,  and  died 
for  him  ;  knows  that  He  lives,  and  lives  for  him  ;  knows 
that  His  sin-atoning  blood  has  answered  for  him,  being 
shed  for  him  as  it  was  shed  for  all ;  and  knows  that, 
when  death  throws  open  to  him  the  doors  into  the 
Eternal  Kingdom,  his  soul  shall  vault  out  of  its  prison 
of  clay,  and  be  received  by  Jesus  into  the  many  mansions 
of  the  blest,  there  to  hunger  no  more,  to  thirst  no  more, 
to  weep  no  more,  and,  better  than  all,  to  sin  no  more, 
but  to  be  a  fit  subject  and  citizen,  henceforth  and  for 
ever, 

"  Iq  the  blest  kingdoms  meek  of  joy  and  love, 
Where  entertain  him  all  the  saints  above, 
In  solemn  troops  and  sweet  societies, 
That  sing,  and  singing  in  their  glory  move, 
And  wipe  the  tears  for  ever  from  his  eyes." 


THE  DAY  OF  THE  CHRISTIANAS  DEATH. 

KEY.  GEORGE  S.  INGRAM, 

IN  INDEPENDENT  CHAPEL,    TWICKENHAM,    ENGLAND. 

**  The  day  of  death  is  better  than  the  day  of  one's  birth.'" — Eccles. 

vii:  1. 

npHIS    statement  must  be  understood  not  absolutely, 

-^  but  conditionally.  There  are  thousands  of  whom 
only  its  converse  shall  be  found  true.  The  day  of  their 
birth  was  one  of  hope  ;  it  was  the  entrance  on  a  life 
which  might  have  been  one  of  true  goodness,  being  one 
of  faith  on  the  Son  of  God,  and  hence  a  life  of  prepara- 
tion for  "glory,  honor,  and  immortality.''  But  the  pre- 
cious opportunities  of  every  passing  day  are  being  ne- 


ao8  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

glected.  and  the  day  of  death  shall  be  the  termination  of 
all  mercy  and  hope,  and  consequently  the  ruin,  beyond 
remedy,  of  their  deathless  and  priceless  souls.  Of  such 
persons  the  truth  in  our  text  will  not  hold  good  ;  it  is 
applicable  only  to  those  who  "  die  unto  the  Lord,"  and 
none  can  do  so  but  those  who  are  simple  and  sincere  be- 
lievers in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and 
the  sinner's  Saviour.  Of  none  then,  save  the  true  Christ- 
ian, can  it  be  correctly  affirmed  that  "  The  day  of  death 
is  better  than  the  day  of  one's  birth." 

1.  This  affirmation  is  true,  inasmuch  as  the  day  of 
the  Christian's  death  hririgs  deliverance  from  all  suffering 
and  grief.  Man  is  born  to  trouble  as  the  sparks  fly  up- 
ward. None  are  exempted  from  pain  and  sorrow.  The 
day  of  birth  ushers  us  into  a  world  which  has  been  truly 
called  a  "  vale  of  tears,"  but  the  day  of  a  Christian's  death 
is  the  day  that  liberates  him  from  all  suffering, — and  in 
which  all  tears  are  forever  wiped  from  his  eyes.  In 
such  a  case  then,  ''  the  day  of  death  is  better  than  the 
day  of  one's  birth."  The  end  of  a  voyage  is  better  than 
the  beginning,  especially  if  it  has  been  a  stormy  one. 
The  dangers  of  the  deep  are  past,  and  the  shore  is  now 
reached  in  safety  ;  therefore,  in  this  respect,  the  end  of 
a  voyage  is  hetter  than  the  beginning.  And  so  it  is  with 
tlie  day  of  the  Christian's  birth,  and  the  day  of  his  death. 
But  we  look  with  very  different  feelings  on  the  departure 
of  a  follower  of  Jesus.  We  feel  sorrow,  it  is  true,  but  it 
is  associated  with  no  fears  in  connection  with  the  de- 
parted ;  it  is  sorrow  arising  from  the  consciousness  of 
personal  loss, — the  loss  of  the  society,  the  counsels, 
and  encouragement  of  the  deceased.  It  is  sorrow  associ- 
ated with  Jiope,  and  therefore  it  gradually  ripens  into  joy. 
As  the  heart  recovers  itself  from  the  shinning  stroke  in- 
flicted by  death,  it  thinks  on  the  state  of  perfect  security 
and  peace  on  which  the  departed  has  entered, — a  state 


OLD    AGE.  309 

wherein  scripture  assures  us^  "  there  shall  be  no  more 
death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there 
be  any  more  pain;  for  the  former  things  are  passed 
away." 

2.  Our  text  holds  true  on  another  ground,  namely,  that 
the  day  of  deatli  is  the  day  oi  final  triumph  over  all  sin. 
The  afflictions  which  the  Christian  has  to  endure,  do  not 
awaken  so  much  concern  in  his  mind  as  sin  does.  Paul, 
although  he  knew  that  in  every  city,  bonds  and  afflic- 
tions awaited  him,  could  say,  ^'  None  of  these  things 
move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself ;" 
yet  when  striving  against  sin,  and  feeling  "a  law  in  his 
members  warring  against  the  law  of  his  mind,  and  bring- 
ing him  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  was  in 
his  members,"  he  was  made  to  cry  out,  "  0  wretched 
man  that  I  am  !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of 
(his  death  ?"  The  believer's  life  is  one  long  and  arduous 
battle  against  sin.  From  worldly  losses  or  bereavements, 
and  from  bodily  sufferings  we  may  be  for  many  years 
freed  ;  but  from  our  warfare  with  sin  we  are  never  for  a 
single  moment  exempted.  It  is  the  chief  work  which 
God  has  given  us  to  do,  for  unless  we  be  bringing  our 
hearts  into  subjection  to  his  will, — cherishing  towards 
him  tlie  *^  faith  which  worketh  by  love,"  and  growing  in 
that  ^'  holiness,  without  which  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord  ;"  unless  there  be  this  inward  conformity  to  the 
image  of  Christ,  no  external  service  can  be  acceptable  to 
God.  The  spell  and  power  of  sin  in  the  heart  must  be 
broken  if  the  outward  life  is  to  be  a  living  unto  the 
Lord. 

The  day  of  the  Christian's  death  is  the  day  in  which 
he  obtains  a  full  and  final  triumph  over  sin.  It  is  the 
day  in  which  the  word  of  grace  in  his  soul  is  brought 
unto  i)erfection  ;  and  is  not  that  day  better  than  the  day 
of  his   birth  ?     Is   not   the   day   in  whicli   the   warrior 


310  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

sheaths  his  victorious  sword,  puts  off  his  bruised  and 
stained  armor,  a  happier  day  than  the  one  in  which  he 
buckled  it  on  ?  So  surely  it  is  also  with  every  ''good 
soldier  of  Jesus  Christ/' 

3.  The  words  of  our  text  are  true  in  the  case  of  Chrisfc^s 
followers,  because  the  day  of  their  decease  introdi.tccs 
them  into  a  state  of  endless  reimrd.  To  be  beyond  the 
reach  of  all  sorrow  and  pain,  and  to  be  such  complete 
victors  over  sin  as  to  have  every  thought  and  feeling  of 
the  soul  in  fullest  sympathy  with  God, — this  of  itself 
would  be  ''joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory/'  But 
there  is  something  even  beyond  this  which  the  scriptures 
tell  us  awaits  the  departed  saint.  David  said  to  God, 
"  Oh  !  how  great  is  thy  goodness  Avhich  thou  hast  laid 
up  for  them  that  fear  thee  ;  which  thou  hast  wrought 
for  them  that  trust  in  thee  before  the  sons  of  men."* 
Peter  speaks  of  "an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and  un- 
defiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven/^ 
Isaiah  and  Paul  say,  "Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things 
which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him."  And 
a  Greater  than  them  all  has  said  ;  "  To  him  that  over- 
cometh,  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  on  ray  throne,  as  I 
also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  witli  my  Father  on  his 
throne/'  All  such  passages,  with  many  more  which  we 
need  not  cite,  plainly  declare,  that  there  shall  be  rewards 
to  Christians  in  heaven.  These,  we  believe,  shall  be  ac- 
cording to  the  trust  and  love  cherished  towards  Christ, 
the  service  done,  and  the  suffering  endured,  for  his  sake 
on  earth. 

Think  what  a  reward  the  companionship  of  heaven 
shall  be,  "  Ye  are  come,'^  said  Paul  to  the  believing 
Hebrews,  Avhen  speaking  by  anticipation  of  the  glory  and 
certainty  of  their  prospects, — "Ye  are  come  unto  Mount 
Zaon,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly 


OLD    AGE.  311 

Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to 
the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born  which 
are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  Jadge  of  all,  and 
to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  tlie 
Mediator  of  the  new  covenant/^  Think  of  associating 
wiili  angels,  becoming  the  companions  of  patriarchs  and 
prophets,  of  apostles  and  martyrs.  With  what  veneration 
do  we  read  now  of  those  men,  *'  of  wdiom  the  world  was 
not  worthy/'  What  an  honor  and  blessing  must  it  be 
then  to  become  the  associates  of  sucli ;  to  see  them,  and 
speak  with  them  face  to  face,  as  we  converse  with  our 
familiar  friends  here.  Nor  will  it  be  the  least  delightful 
element  in  the  companionship  above,  that  the  godly 
friends  we  loved  on  earth  shall  be  all  known  by  us  there. 
What  a  blessed  reward  then  does  the  day  of  death  con- 
fer on  the  believer  in  Jesus.  It  ushers  him  into  the  pres- 
ence of  those  whose  faces  he  had  often  seen  on  earth, 
with  the  tones  of  whose  voices  he  was  fondly  familiar,  and 
with  whose  intercourse  are  associated  some  of  thetender- 
est  and  holiest  recollections  which  memory  can  retain. 
The  fondest  and  happiest  circle  of  loving  ones  here  is 
never  long  unbroken,  for,  as  the  poet  truthfully  and 
touchingly  says, 

*'  There  is  no  flock,  liowever  watch'd  and  tended, 
But  one  dead  Itimb  is  there  ! 
There  is  no  fireside,  howso'er  defended, 
But  has  one  vacant  chair." 

And  this  thought  of  death  and  separation  creeps,  like  a 
huge  cold  shadow,  over  the  sunniest  scenes  of  domestic 
enjoyment.  But  no  such  thought  can  enter  the  bosom 
of  the  departed  saint  when  he  joins  the  friends  of  his 
affection  above.  And  a  richer  reward  than  even  th;it 
^^waits  us,  if  we  live  and  die  unto  the  Lord.     There  i§ 


312  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

One  in  heaven  who  "  is  not  ashamed  to  call  us  brethren/' 
"a  friend  who  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother/'  whom  we 
have  not  seen,  but  around  whom  our  holiest  thoughts 
and  strongest  affections  cluster  and  cling.  "'We  shall 
see  Him  as  he  is."  We  shall  gaze  unvailed  on  that 
blessed  countenance  on  which,  for  us,  the  dark  shadow 
of  death  once  rested,  but  which  is  now  ^'as  the  sun 
shining  in  his  strength."  To  stand  in  his  presence 
where  is  '^^ fullness  of  joy,"  or  to  sit  at  his  right  hand, 
where  '^  are  pleasures  for  evermore,"  is  the  consumma- 
tion of  every  aspiration  and  hope  which  the  regenerated 
spirit  can  cherish.  No  wish  can  soar  higher  than  this  ; 
and  surely  the  day  that  fulhlls  it  is  better  than  the  day 
of  the  most  auspicious  birth. 

For  all  this  information  we  are  indebted  to  Jesus 
Christ  alone.  He  "  hath  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light  in  the  gospel."  His  death  is  the  only  '*  propitiation 
for  our  sins,"  by  which  he  has  obtained  for  us  an  en- 
trance into  heaven,  and  has  thereby  spoiled  death  of  its 
sting.  Hence,  it  is  said,  that  he  ''hath  ahoUshed  death;" 
and  Himself  declared,  ''  Whosoever  liveth  and  believeth 
on  me,  shall  never  die.''  To  the  Christian  "  there  is  no 
death  ;  Avhat  seems  so  is  transition."  The  lifeless  body 
is  laid  in  the  grave,  but  it  rests  in  the  sure  hope  of  a 
blessed  resurrection  ;  and  the  ransomed  and  liberated 
■;pirit,  the  moment  its  "earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle 
•s  dissolved,  has  a  building  of  God,  an  house  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens."  This  is  what  we  call 
ieath  to  the  believer.  And  oh,  how  fitted  it  is  to  com- 
fort and  heal  our  mourning  and  wounded  hearts,  when 
bereft  of  those  we  loved,  and  who  loved  Christ  too. 
"  They  are  not  lost,  but  only  gone  before  ;  and  are  now 
realizing  to  the  full,  the  truth  of  our  text, — "The  day 
of  death  is  better  than  the  day  of  one's  birth/' 


OLD    AGE.  813 


HEAVEN  WARNING  EARTH. 

T.  RAFFLES,    D.D. 

AT  THE  FUNERAL  OF  REV.  WILLIAM  ROBY,  AN  AGED  MINISTER. 

The  'Voice  said  cry,  and  he  said.  What  shall  I  cry  ?   All  flesh  is  grass, 
dc.—lsA.  40:6. 

T>RETHREN  : 

^^  There  are  seasons  when  the  heart  is  too  fall  for 
utterance,  and  the  lips  inadequate  to  express  what  the 
spirit  feels.  Such  is  the  present  moment.  We  must  not 
be  so  absorbed  in  grief  for  the  dead,  as  entirely  to  forget 
what  we  owe  to  the  living.  '^^The  voice  said.  Cry,  Cry, 
and  he  said,  what  shall  I  cry  ?  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all 
the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field  ;  the 
grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth,  but  the  word  of  God 
endureth  for  ever." 

My  Christian  friends,  you  have  often  heard  the  voice 
of  our  departed  friend  speaking  to  you  from  this  place, 
with  all  that  affectionate  earnestness  by  which  his  public 
labors  were  so  pre-eminently  characterized,  of  the  things 
which  belong  to  your  everlasting  peace  ;  and  many  of 
you  have,  I  fear,  up  to  this  time,  remained  unmoved  and 
unimpressed.  Hear  that  voice  once  again — it  is  the  last 
time — it  speaks  to  you  from  the  bed  of  death,  from  the 
open  grave.  Hear  it !  "  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God  V 
You  must  meet  him  !  Every  one  in  this  vast  assembly 
must  meet  him  in  death  and  at  judgment.  You  know  that 
He  will  bring  you  to  death,  and  to  the  house  appointed 
for  all  living.  Of  all  the  millions  that  have  lived,  from 
the  first  of  men  to  the  present  moment,  only  two  have 
escaped  the  stroke  of  death  ;  and  you  cannot  he  so  infat- 
uated as  to  imagine  that  there  are  any  circumstances 
in  your  case  so  peculiar  as  that  the  third  exception  to 
14 


r,14  MEMORIAL      TRIDVTE8. 

the  general  rule  should  be  in  your  favour.  No,  you 
know  that  you  must  die.  To  each  and  every  one  of  you 
there  is  ^^  a  time  to  be  born,  and  a  time  to  die:" — the 
first  is  past,  the  second  is  to  come ;  and  the  same  certain- 
ty rests  on  both.  It  may  not  be  this  year,  or  for  many 
years  :  it  may  be  at  some  distant  period  ;  but  the  time 
will  come  when  the  prophetic  announcement  will  be  re- 
alized in  your  case — ^' This  year  thou  shalt  die."  If  I 
could  read  the  names  of  all  here  who  will  yet  be  summoned 
this  year  to  the  bar  of  Clod,  what  a  sensation  would  be 
excited  !  How  every  eye  would  be  fixed  on  the  fatal 
scroll,  and  every  ear  intent  on  the  sad  recital,  anxious  to 
discover  whether  his  name  or  that  of  his  nearest  friend 
would  be  found  included  in  the  catalogue.  What  would 
this  prove  but  the  consciousness  of  the  deep  interest  you 
individually  possess  in  that  solemn  and  momentous 
event  ?  AVhy,  then,  deceive  yourselves  any  longer  !  Why 
attempt  to  put  off  the  consideration  of  an  event  tliat  will 
certainly  happen  to  all,  and  by  v/hich  all  are  lost  if  it 
come  upon  them  unawares  and  find  them  unprepared. 
^'  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  his  own  soul  \"  The  soul  once  lost,  is  lost  for 
ever.  The  treasures  of  a  thousand  worlds  cannot  be 
compared  with  the  value  of  one  immortal  soul.  Though 
you  should  have  the  gold  of  Ophir,  the  mines  of  Peru, 
the  gems  of  India,  the  spices  of  Arabia,  and  the  cedars 
of  Lebanon  ;  though  you  should  call  these,  and  the  king- 
doms and  merchandise  of  this  world,  all  your  own,  with 
all  their  pomp,  and  majesty,  and  glory,  what  would  they 
avail  if  you  lost  your  soul  ?  '^  What  shall  a  man  give  in 
exchange  for  his  soul  ?"  Then,  let  me  entreat  your 
attention  to  this  solemn  question.  Are  you  prepared  to 
die  ?  I  ask  all  and  each  in  this  vast  assembly — are  you 
prepared  to  die  ? 

And   what  is  it  to  die  ?    Men  talk  of  death  as  the 


OLD    AGE.  315 

king  of  terrors  ;  and  they  are  correct  if  they  mean  that 
death  is  encompassed  with  terrors  of  the  most  tremen- 
dous sort.  Men  talk  of  death  as  the  debt  of  nature,  as 
though  in  the  payment  of  this  debt,  all  were  settled,  and 
the  balance  between  man  and  existence  were  closed  for 
ever.  But  this  is  a  rash  and  unscriptural  way  of  speak- 
ing of  death  !  What,  then,  is  death  ?  It  is  the  separa- 
tion of  the  soul  from  the  body,  not  final  but  temporary, 
not  eternal  but  for  a  season.  As  it  regards  the  body,  it 
is  the  extinction  of  the  vital  principle  ;  it  is  disorgani- 
zation, ruin,  decay,  corruption.  ''  The  dust  returns  to 
the  earth,  from  whence  it  came,  but  the  spirit  returns 
to  G-od  who  gave  it.^'  There  is  hope  of  a  tree  if  it  be 
cut  down,"  that  other  springs  will  behold  its  verdure, 
other  autumns  its  fruit.  ''  But  man  dies  and  wasteth 
away,  and  giveth  up  the  ghost,  and  where  is  he  T'  You 
look  on  a  cold  and  lifeless  body ;  you  touch  it,  and  per- 
ceive that  corruption  soon  begins  its  work  ;  all  its  sym- 
metry and  vigor  soon  disappears ;  the  countenance  that 
was  wont  to  beam  with  intelligence  and  love,  is  dull  and 
inanmate.  That  is  death  :  but  that  is  not  «// death.  If 
you  would  know  what  death  is,  you  must  mark  the  disrup- 
tion of  every  earthly  tie  ;  you  must  mark  the  spirit  and  fol- 
low it  to  an  unseen  world  ;  you  must  mark  the  character 
and  circumstances  of  its  unalterable  condition  there ; 
and  then,  when  you  have  heard  its  sentence,  and  listened 
to  its  doom,  you  will  know  what  death  is. 

But  why  must  all  men  die  ?  Because  '^  all  have 
sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God."  ''By  one 
man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin."  Men 
talk  of  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  and  are  offended 
at  us  if  we  speak  of  sin  ;  and  yet  dare  not  charge  the 
Deity  with  caprice  or  injustice.  But,  is  it  not  unjust  to 
inflict  punishment  on  innocence  ?  If  man  were  not  a 
sinucr,  would  he  die  ?    Would  not  his  innocence  be  hit^ 


316  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

security  ?  "VYould  not  man  be  saved  from  death  if  he 
were  innocent  ?  All  have  sinned,  and,  therefore,  all  must 
die,  and  stand  at  His  tribunal.  It  is  sin  that  has  ren- 
dered this  world  a  vast  mausoleum,  and  converted  Eden 
into  a  gloomy  Golgotha.  But  those  that  place  their 
trust  and  confidence  in  the  Mediator,  shall  never  die,  for 
he  took  upon  himself  onr  nature,  paid  the  penalty  which 
we  had  incurred,  entered  the  grave,  ascended  upon  high, 
and  ''  led  captivity  captive,'^  that  he  might  be  the  resur- 
rection of  life. 

Do  you  ask  me  what  are  the  consequences  of  death  ? 
I  say  to  the  man  who  tramples  under  foot  the  Son  of 
God,  who  will  not  flee  for  shelter  to  the  cross,  the  conse- 
quences must  be  tremendous,  beyond  the  power  of 
language  to  describe,  or  imagination  to  conceive.  But 
the  man  who  believes  in  the  mediation  of  Christ,  when 
summoned  before  the  dread  tribunal,  to  him  the  conse- 
quences of  death  are  gloriously  transporting  !  For  ''eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  what  God  hath  laid 
up  in  store  for  them  that  love  him.^^  I  would  now  press 
my  question  again  ;  are  you  prepared  to  die  ?  Do  you 
lay  hold  on  Christ  as  the  only  ground  of  your  hope  ? 
"  Mark  the  perfect  man  and  behold  the  upright,  for  the 
end  of  that  man  is  peace." 

Never  was  this  declaration  more  strikingly  illustrated 
than  in  the  death  of  our  departed  friend.  Those  who 
watched  round  his  pillow,  could  not  tell  the  precise  mo- 
ment when  he  expired.  His  lips  and  eyes  seemed  closed 
in  peaceful  slumber.  There  was  no  indication  of  ap- 
proaching death  ;  no  pang,  no  struggle,  no  sigh  ;  only 
the  respiration  became  less  and  less ;  and  whilst  the 
medical  attendant  watched  his  last  moments,  his  pulsa- 
tion ceased  altogether;  and  even  then  he  could  not  be- 
lieve that  existence  had  closed,  till  he  had  laid  his  hand 


OLD    AM.  317 

upon  his  heart,  and  found  that  it  had  ceased  to  beat.  Tt 
must  be  a  delightful   reflection  for  all  who  enjoyed  his 
pastoral  labors,  that  he  was  able  to  preach  once  every 
sabbath,  except  the  last.  On  the  morning  of  New  Year's 
day  he  had  attended  the  prayer-meeting,  and  keenly  felt 
the'severitv  of  the  season.     On  the  following  sabbath, 
he   administered  the   sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper, 
though  with  difficulty,  and  preached  his  thirty-fifth  an- 
nual sermon  to  the  young  people,  instructed  m  the  Sun- 
day-school attached  to  the  church.     He  was  urged  not 
to  do  so,  but  his  heart  was  set  on  it.  It  was  his  last  work, 
and  when  it  was  done,  he  said,  in  the  expiring  words  of 
the  Saviour,  "  it  is  finished  r      He  was  carried  home  m 
a  sedan  chair,  never  to  come  out  again.     He  came  down 
stairs  as   usual  through  the  week ;  but  on  the   sabbath 
kept  his  bed,  and  next  morning  he  rested  from  his  labors. 
"  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord.'' 

Now,  my  dear  friends,  who  have  been  permitted  to 
sit  under  the  ministry  of  our  departed  brother,  this  dis- 
pensation speaks  volumes  of  admonition  and  instruction 
to  you.  Not  one  of  all  the  sermons  he  preached,  shall 
be  lost;  nor  shall  his  faithful  testimony  fall  to  the 
ground  as  respects  any  one  of  you.  If  not  -  the  savor 
of  life  unto  life,"  it  will  be  ^'  the  savor  of  death  unto 
death."  God  forbid,  as  it  respects  any  one  of  us,  that  he 
should  feel  the  latter.  I  beseech  you,  ponder  on  the 
things  which  belong  to  your  everlasting  peace,  ere  they 
be  for  ever  hid  from  your  eyes. 

Men,  brethren,  fathers  !  I,  as  a  dying  man,  speak  to 
to  you  who  are  dying  around  me,  and  I  charge  you  this 
day  ^^  before  God,  and  before  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at  his  appearing," 
that  you  ^^give  all  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and 
election  sure,"  that  so  you  may  be  found  of  him  m 
peace. 


m  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

Now  let  us  go  to  the  place  of  sepulture,  and  bury  our 
dead  out  of  our  sight.  Let  us  take  his  precious  dust  and 
lay  it  m  the  grave,  in  the  sure  and  certain  hope  of  a  joy- 
ful resurrection. 


J 


THE  BELIEVER'S  CONFIDENCE. 

KEY.  EDWARD   PARSONS,  OF   LEEDS,  ENGLAND. 

ON  THE  DEATH  OF  REV.  JOHN  HYATT. 

Iknow  .  .  .  that  in  my  flesh  I  shall  see  God. — Job  xix:  26. 

OB  uttered  the  words  which  I  have  just  read.  He 
enjoyed  the  thought  of  dying ;  he  looked  to  his 
death  as  connected  with  the  highest  and  sublimest  con- 
solations. Job,  indeed,  appears  to  have  had  no  resource 
but  in  God — no  hope  but  in  the  thought  of  that  day 
when  he  should  see  God,  and  see  him  in  his  then  suffer- 
ing body. 

The  subject  on  which  I  mean  to  dwell,  with  a  view 
to  your  instruction  and  comfort  is,  this  :  The  believ- 
er's CONFIDENCE  IN  THE  DOMINION  OF  ChRIST  OVER 
IHE   last  ENEMY  DEATH. 

I.  The  subjection  of  the  body  to  the  dominion  of 
death. 

1.  Man  is  essentially  composed  of  a  material  body,  of 
an  immaterial  soul.  The  soul  and  the  body  are  closely 
and  inseparably  united  for  the  life  that  now  is.  But 
this  union  of  body  and  soul  must  be  dissolved. 

The  period  when  this  dissolution  of  the  union  be- 
tween the  soul  and  the  body  may  take  place,  is  unknown, 
is  uncertain  to  us ;  but  it  is  fixed,  irrevocably  fixed  by 
the  decree  of  the  supreme  Arbiter  of  life  and  death. 

In  the  dissolution  of  the  union  now  subsisting  be- 
tween the  soul  and  the  body,  death  takes  possession  of 


OLD    AGE.  319 

the  body  as  his  own  lawful  prey ;  and  consigns  it  to  his 
own  prison,  the  dark  and  loathsome  grave ;  and  there 
he  holds  it  in  captivity  till  tlie  morning  of  the  resurrec- 
tion ;  that  morning  in  which  the  captive  shall  be 
delivered— in  which  Jesus  will  triumph  gloriously  as  the 
Resurrection  and  the  Life,  over  all  the  power  of  death. 
The  apostle,  referring  to  the  dominion  of  death  over  the 
body,  calls  it  a  ''  vile  hodij."  It  is  vile  in  its  origin— in  its 
subjection  to  loathsome  disease,  and  tormenting  pain- 
in  reference  to  the  dust  to  which  it  must  be  consigned  at 
the  last ;  for  it  must  be  the  prey  of  death  and  of  worms. 
In  the  49th  Psalm  it  is  said,  "  Death  shall  feed  on  them, 
and  their  beauty  shall  consume  in  the  grave." 

Die  we  must ;  our  bodies  humanly  speaking  must  be 
divided  into  particles,  and  so  scattered  as  to  preclude  the 
possibility  of  a  union  of  these  particles.  But  though  we 
acknowledge  this  to  be  impossible  with  man,  it  is  possi- 
ble to  God.  It  is  no  "incredible  thing"  that  God 
should  raise  the  dead,  though  these  particles  were  scat- 
tered to  the  remotest  parts  of  earth. 

II.  The  subjection  of  death  to  the  dominion  of  Christ. 
"He  must  reign  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under 
his  feet "—"  The  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is 
Death."  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  "destroy 
death,  aud  him  that  had  the  power  of  death."  Jesus 
Christ  now  lives  in  the  character  of  a  Redeemer  to  ac- 
complish this  work.  Jesus  Christ  will  come  at  the  ap- 
pointed day  to  complete  the  work,  and  to  destroy  death, 
and  him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  for  ever.  "Unto 
them  that  look  for  him  shall  he  appear  the  second  time, 
without  sin,  unto  salvation."  It  is  necessary  that  he 
should  thus  appear ;  it  is  certain  that  he  will  thus  appear. 
When  he  thus  comes,  then,  every  grave  shall  yield  up  its 
deposit;  eveiT  body,  wherever  deposited,  shall  rise  at 
his  woi'd,  and  shall  stand  in  his  presence. 


son  DfEMOPJAL     TmnVTKs. 

This  resurrection  of  the  dead  will  be  nniversdl. 
"  All  that  are  iu  the  grave  shall  come  forth  :''  come 
forth  to  the  resurrection  of  the  life  eternal,  or  the  resur- 
rection of  damnation.  Not  an  individual  body  can  be 
lost ;  all,  all  must  rise  again  ;  all,  all  must  appear  before 
him. 

Then  I  add — this  resurrection,  this  great  and  wonder- 
ful change,  is  ascribed  to  the  mighty  power  of  Christ 
the  Eedeemer.  (See  Phil,  iii  :  21.)  And  there  is  some- 
thing, I  think,  very  interesting  and  affecting  in  tlie 
order  of  the  resurrection  iu  the  last  day.  In  1  Thess. 
iv  :  16,  it  is  said,  ''  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first  /" 
that  is,  they  shall  rise,  and  be  changed,  before  they  are 
changed  who  shall  then  be  found  living  upon  earth. 

III.  Observe  the  character  in  which  the  Lord  Jesus 
wiU  assert  his  dominion  over  the  last  enemy. 

1.  Job  sai/s,  **  In  my  flesh  I  shall  see  God.'^  He  had 
before  said,  ''  1  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth  ;''  the  Re- 
deemer and  God  then  are  the  same.  In  2  Cor.  v.  10,  it 
is  said,  **  We  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  o/ 
Christ;"'  and  John  says,  "I  saw  the  dead,  small  and 
great,  stand  before  God.''  Then  Christ  is  God.  Were 
he  not  God,  could  he  raise  the  dead  ?  Could  he  effect 
this  great  and  wonderful  change  on  the  body,  which  we 
have  described  ?  Could  he  sentence  the  guilty  to  hell  ? 
Could  he  exalt  the  justified  to  eternal  life  and  glory  in 
his  own  presence  ?  Oh,  no  I  All  this  is  the  work  of 
God  ;  and  Christ  is  God. 

2.  He  will  assert  his  dominion  over  death  as  God  the 
Redeemer.  As  the  Redeemer  of  men  he  was  early  re- 
vealed ;  and  as  the  Redeemer  of  men  he  early  commenced 
his  work  of  redemption.  The  revelation  of  his  character, 
and  the  commencement  of  his  work,  must  be  dated  from 
the  fall  of  man.  No  sooner  did  man  fall,  than  Christ 
was  revealed.    From  the  first  revelation  of  his  redeeming 


OLT)    AGE.  32i 

love,  he  began  to  deliver  from  the  curse  of  the  law — 
from  the  tyranny  of  Satan — from  the  thraldom  of  sin — 
from  the  bondage  of  this  present  evil  world — from  the 
fear  of  death,  and  from  death  itself,  as  '^  the  Resurrec- 
tion and  the  life." 

This  work  of  redemption  displays  all  that  is  interest- 
ing in  his  character,  and  all  that  is  endearing  in  the  dis- 
pensations of  his  goverment.     See  these  three  things. 

(i.)  T7iere  was  an  infinite  Love  in  the  price  of  Re- 
demption. For  we  are  redeemed  "with  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ." 

(ii.)  There  is  Omnipotent  power  in  the  application  of 
this  work.  Your  knowledge  of  Christ  as  a  Eedeemer — 
your  fellowship  with  Christ  as  a  Redeemer — all  you  re- 
ceive from  him — all  you  hope  with  reference  to  his  eter- 
nal presence  in  the  heavenly  world  ;  all  must  be  ascribed 
to  the  power  of  his  Spirit.  That  power  made  you  what 
you  are,  and  by  it  you  are  kept  through  faith  unto  salva- 
tion. 

(iii.)  Tliere  luill  le  Immutalle  Fidelity  in  the  comple- 
tion of  this  loork.  For  God  the  Redeemer,  who  began 
the  good  work  among  you,  will  carry  it  on.  His  work  in 
the  hearts  of  his  people,  and  in  the  world,  will  termi- 
nate in  absolute  and  everlasting  perfection  and  blessed- 
ness. 

Here  let  me  make  some  application.  WJiat  a  source 
of  consolation  is  this,  in  all  the  changes  of  the  world,  in 
all  the  losses  ice  may  sustain.  Here,  too,  is  a  source  of 
consolation  to  all  bereaved  families.  This  day  has  exhib- 
ited a  very  melancholy  appearance  ;  it  has  been  sacred  as 
a  day  of  mourning.  But  let  us  compose  and  comfort 
ourselves.  Has  God  taken  away  the  companion  of  our 
lives,  or  chief  earthly  support  and  comfort,  the  desire  of 
our  eyes,  at  a  stroke  ?  Have  we  been  bereaved  of  the 
child  of  our  hopes  ?  Are  tlio  objects  of  our  tenderest 
14* 


822  MEMORIAL     TRTBUTm. 

affections  numbered  with  the  dead  ?  0  in  the  mid.st  of 
death  in  your  houses,  and  death  in  your  religious  con- 
nections. 0  look  to  Him  that  ever  liveth  I  Whoever 
dies,  God  the  Redeemer  lives  !  Whatever  earthly  com- 
forts are  taken.  He  can  still  give  you  others.  Whatever 
friend  may  die,  that  friend  never  dies,  never  changes  ! 
He  ever  lives — lives  for  yon,  and  lives  in  you. 

IV.  The  final  triumph  of  Christ  over  death  will  con- 
stitute the  final  happiness  of  all  the  redeemed.  The  text 
admits  of  two  senses. 

1.  I  shall  see  God  ????/ Redeemer  i7i  this  my  lody. 
The  day  of  resurrection  is  a  real  and  not  a  meta])horical 
period.  A  real  body  will  be  raised  ;  the  same  body  in 
form  and  substance  as  that  which  was  deposited  in  the 
grave.  Job,  therefore,  says,  ''In  my  flesh  I  shall  see 
God."  In  my  suffering,  dying,  vile  body,  I  shall  see  my 
Redeemer  ;  these  eyes  shall  behold  him,  and  be  eternally 
contemplating  him  in  glory. 

2.  "  I  shall  see  God  in  my  fiesh.  I  shall  see  God  my 
Redeeemer  in  tliat  flesh  which  he  assumed  to  become 
my  Redeemer.  That  body  in  which  he  was  subject  to 
hunger,  thirst  and  weariness  ;  that  body  in  which  he  was 
so  degraded  upon  earth  ;  in  which  he  agonized  in  the 
garden  and  on  the  cross ;  in  which  he  was  so  insulted, 
tormented  and  crucified  on  Calvary.  I  shall  see  him 
in  that  body  in  which  he  suffered  to  effect  my  redemp- 
tion. 

And  observe  another  thing  :  I  shall  see  him /or  my- 
self. I  shall  see  him  as  my  own  Redeemer — I  shall  see 
him  in  perfection.  Nov/  I  see  through  a  glass,  darkly  ; 
but  then,  face  to  face,  as  he  is,  not  through  a  medium, 
I  shall  see  him  in  all  his  unveiled,  unclouded  glory. 
And  this  vision  will  be  connected  with  infinite  joy  ;  and 
the  joy   of  the  vision  will  be  consummated  in  a  perfect 


OLD    AGE.  823 

conformity  to  him  ;  for  I  shall  be  changed  into  the  same 
image. 

You  know  v/hat  our  friend  was  in  life  ;  and  now  you 
have  heard  what  he  was  in  death. 

You  see  what  religion  is  ?  You  see  what  comforts 
and  supports  it  affords  !  Here  is  a  man  who  suffered  as 
much  as  mortality  could  well  bear,  with  all  the  ardor 
which  characterized  his  ministry,  breathing  out  his  soul 
in  full  submission  to  the  will  of  God  ! 

I  will  only  add, 

"  Let  me  die  the  death  of  such  a  righteous  man  ;  and 
let  my  last  end  be  like  his  V  And  may  you  all  die  such 
a  death,  and  come  to  such  an  end  ! 


PKAYER  FOR  WISDOM  IN  VIEW  OF  DEATH. 

REV.  T.  RAFFLES,  D.D.  LL.D.,  LIVERPOOL,    ENGLAITD. 

AT  THE  FUNERAL  OF  DR.  m'aLL  MANCHESTER,  ENGLAND. 

'"'■Lord  SO  teach  us  to  number  our  days,  that  loe  may  apply  our  Jtearis 
unto  wisdom." — Ps.  xc. :  12. 

13ERHAPS  there  is  no  portion  of  the  Holy  Writ  more 
instructive  than  the  touching  confession  of 
which  the  text  forms  a  part.  In  considering  these 
words,  wc  may  confine  ourselves  to  that  bearing  of  them 
which  appears  best  adapted  to  produce  those  impressions, 
which,  at  a  moment  like  the  present,  we  ought  to  be 
most  anxious  to  secure.  To  be  able  to  apply  our  hearts 
to  wisdom,  and  rightly  number  our  days,  ought  to  be 
the  great  business  of  life  ;  for  it  is  the  chief  end  of  man. 
But  if  this  be  deserving  of  your  chief  attention — if  this 
consideration  ought  to  work  upon  your  conduct  through 
life — if  death  should  surprise  you  destitute  of  this  prep- 
uruiion,  imagine  how  deep — how  bitter,  yet  unavailing. 


824  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

will  be  your  regret  that  you  did  not  attend  to  it,  wliile 
there  was  yet  time.  How  then  you  will  mourn  with  the 
lost,  and  cry  out  in  the  anguish  of  your  spirit — '  Foolish 
that  I  was,  how  did  I  hate  instruction,  and  turn  from 
the  ways  of  wisdom  when  it  might  have  been  of  avail/ — 

There  are  two  things  which  demand  our  attention,  in 
considering  this  text  : — 

I.  The  lesson  to  be  learned.  This  psalm  is  entitled 
'*  A  Psalm  of  Moses, '^  so  that  it  was  a  composition  of  the 
Jews,  as  early  as  the  deliverance  out  of  Egypt.  It  was 
composed  about  the  time  when  the  faithless  spies 
brought  the  news  of  the  children  of  Anak  being  in  Ca- 
naan, when  the  people  murmured,  and  God's  anger  was 
kindled  at  their  unbelief  and  rebellion,  and  He  resolved 
that  they  should  not  enjoy  the  promised  land,  but  full  in 
the  wilderness.  At  this  time,  it  is  presumed,  the  limit 
of  man^s  years  was  confined  to  about  seventy  :  while 
only  Moses  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob  lived  to  a  greater  age. 
On  this  occasion  it  was,  and  under  these  circumstances, 
that  this  beautiful  psalm,  setting  forth  the  fleeting  nature 
of  human  life,  was  composed.  It  is  unquestionably  one 
of  the  most  impressive  lessons  on  this  momentous  subject 
in  the  sacred  volume. 

Mark  both  the  matter  and  the  manner  of  the  lesson. 
First,  the  matter.  It  is,  "  to  number  our  days  ;"  and  it 
is  ^^  so  to  number  them  " — in  a  way  so  judicious  and  use- 
ful— ^'as  to  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom."  How  is 
this,  then,  to  be  done  ?  How  are  we  to  number  our 
days  ?  Not  by  an  arithmetical  calculation  of  them — not 
by  counting  them  up  so  as  to  be  able  to  say — ''I  have 
lived  so  many  daj^s."  Little  skill  would  be  required  to 
do  this,  and  the  labor,  if  applied  to  no  other  purpose, 
would  be  little  worth,  Nor  does  it  consist  of  an  attempt 
to  calculate  the  years  wo  have  yet  to  live — a  vain  effort  to 
pry   into   the   secrets   of   futurity.     No   sage   has   ever 


OLD     AGE.  325 

learned  the  art  of  calculating  or  ascertaining  this  ;  and 
every  attempt  to  plunge  into  that  futurity  which  God 
has  veiled  from  our  sight  is  as  futile  as  it  is  impious  ; 
nor  would  I  give  much  concern,  nor  vainly  endeavor  to 
estimate  the  days  we  have  to  live.  This  is  not  the  lesson 
inculcat'.d  ;  but  by  "numbering  our  days"  in  the  text, 
is  meant  the  deep  and  due  consideration  of  them — what 
they  are — whence  they  come — whither  they  are  joending 
— how  they  are  employed— what  will  be  their  final  issue, 
and  their  grand  result.  "  So  teach  us  to  number  our 
days,"  and  thus  we  shall  "learn  to  apply  our  hearts  to 
wisdom." 

Consider  their  brevity.  It  seems  but  yesterday  that 
we  began  to  live,  and  yet  with  the  youngest  of  us  a  great 
portion  of  life  is  gone — with  many  of  us  more  than  half 
of  our  days  are  past,   and   with  some  of  us  nearly  all ! 

In  "  numbering  your  days  "  consider  your  vanities. 
With  what  foolish  and  vain  pursuits  the  days  are  for  the 
most  part  occupied  !  What  multitudes  there  are  whose 
days  are  spent  in  idleness,  discord,  and  profligacy  ! 
They  sow  the  wind,  and  they  reap  the  whirlwind.  Who 
could  expect  a  different  harvest  from  such  seed  ?  Surely 
evil  man,  at  his  best  estate,  is  all  vanity,  and  the  works 
of  men  are  vanity.  They  undertake  difficult  enterprizes 
in  foreign  countries  and  acquire  fame  !  but  what  is  it  ? 
Vanity.  The  pursue  abstruse  studies,  and  they  attain 
to  literary  renown,  and  survive  in  their  writings.  What 
is  it  all  ?  Vanity.  They  rise  up  early,  and  sit  up  late, 
and  eat  the  bread  of  anxiety  and  amass  wealth.  What 
is  it  ?  Vanity.  They  attain  to  fame,  and  obtain  the  ob- 
jects of  their  ambition — they  are  loaded  with  honors, 
their  names  become  associated  with  heraldry,  and  their 
deeds  become  the  subjects  of  history.  Bat  what  is  it 
all  ?  Vanity.  In  fact,  all  the  objects  and  pursuits  of 
lifo  v/ill  be  in  viiin  if  we  have  not  a  rogfard  for  tjie  salva- 


326  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

tion  of  the  soul.  Amongst  the  numberless  objects  of 
life  this  constitutes  the  ^'one  thing  needful."  To  ac- 
complish this  ought  to  be  the  great  business  of  life. 

11.  Consider  the  manner  of  this  lesson  we  have  to  lea^n. 
^'  Teach  us  to  number  our  days  ;"  and  all  of  us  here  are 
left  without  excuse,  if  we  neglect  to  obey  the  injunction. 
In  the  sacred  Word  we  are  admonished  on  the  shortness 
of  human  life  and  the  rapid  approach  of  eternity. 
*'  Few  have  the  days  of  my  life  been  (says  Jacob),  and  I 
have  not  attained  unto  the  days  of  the  years  of  my 
fathers."  The  prophets  teach  us  this  too.  '*'  The  voice 
said.  Cry.  And  he  said.  What  shall  I  cry  ?  All  flesh  is 
grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of 
the  field."  The  apostles  teach  us  this.  "For  what  is 
your  life  ?"  says  James;  "It  is  even  a  vapor  that  ap- 
peareth  for  a  little  time  and  then  vanisheth  away."  The 
Eedeemer  teaches  us,  "  Watch  therefore,  for  ye  know 
neither  the  day  nor  the  hour  wherein  the  Son  of  Man 
Cometh."  *^' And  what  I  have  said  unto  you  I  say  unto 
all,  Watch."  But  oh,  how  slow  at  heart  are  we,  and  un- 
willing to  profit  by  these  admonitions.  And  yet  we 
might  read  lessons  on  mortality  in  every  page  of  Scrip- 
ture. 

G-od  teaches  it  us  by  the  promises  of  the  Gospel,  the 
whole  of  which  rest  up  )n  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ.  So  that  every  saying  you  hear,  if  it  be 
constituted  on  evangelical  principles,  is  addressed  to  us 
as  dying  men,  and  exhibits  Christ  as  the  End  of  life,  the 
Conqueror  of  death,  the  Opener  of  the  grave,  in  whom 
^'  whosoever  believeth,  though  he  were  dead  yet  shall  he 
live,"  "  and  he  that  liveth  and  believeth  in  Him  shall 
never  die." 

God  teaches  us  this  lesson  by  the  means  of  providence. 
We  are  dying  daily  in  the  persons  of  our  kindred  and  ac- 
quaintance,    -bivery  day  some  tie  that  binds  us  to  life  is 


OLD    AGE.  327 

bursting  as  it  brings  us  nearer  to  that  which  must  wit- 
ness our  own  dissolution ;  and  he  that  lives  the  longest 
only  lives  to  witness  the  greater  desolation — to  wander 
like  a  lonely  being  in  the  midst  of  society,  to  sigh  and 
grieve  over  all  he  loved  and  knew,  now  hid  from  his 
sight. 

He  teaches  us  by  night.  The  ebbing  of  the  tide,  the 
setting  of  the  sun,  the  waning  of  the  moon,  the  revolv- 
ing of  the  seasons,  the  interchange  of  day  and  night — 
pleasant  as  they  are — all  admonish  us  that  they  are  made 
as  fitting  memorials  to  us  that  our  time  is  brief:  — 

"  For  soou  the  spring  of  youth  is  past, 

Our  manhood -s  summer  sheds  its  bloom  ; 
Then  age,  like  autumn's  chilling  blast, 
Brings  on  the  winter  of  the  tomb." 

Nor  can  we  pass  tlirough  the  streets  Avithout  finding 
admonitions  such  as  these — the  windows  closed  to  inti- 
mate that  death  has  been  an  inmate  there — the  hatch- 
ment placed  over  the  door  to  intimate  the  honors  of 
some  one  to  whom  the  pomp  of  heraldry  is  nothing  now 
— the  passing  bell  to  inform  us  that  another  soul  lias 
entered  the  eternal  world.  All  these  speak  the  same 
truth,  and  impress  the  same  lesson — urge  upon  us  the 
same  great  duty ;  and  it  is  that  to  which  we  are  directed 
in  our  text  : — ''  ^o  teach  us  to  number  our  days,  that  we 
may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom."  Everything  is 
admonitory.  The  rooms  of  our  houses  are  adorned  by 
portraits  of  persons  who  have  long  since  ceased  to 
breathe.  Our  libraries  contain  books  which  are  the 
writings  of  men,  who  being  dead  yet  speak.  And  when 
we  repair  in  solitude  to  our  cabinets,  every  letter — every 
luck  of  hail — every  token  of  remembrance,  tells  us  of 
the  death  of  some  one  we  loved,  and  warns  us  to  prepare. 
We  are  then  without  excuse  if  we  fail  to  learu  the  lessou 


338  MEMORIAL      TRIIWTES. 

which  teaches  ns  '^to  number  our  days;"  and  yet  how 
vain  all  these  admonitions  are,  if  religion  has  not 
stamped  her  impress  upon  the  heart ! 

III.  The  end  to  which,  when  learned,  this  lesson  is  to 
be  applied.  Alas  !  my  brethren,  we  may  so  number  our 
days  as  to  apply  our  hearts  to  folly.  We  may  so  mis- 
understand and  pervert  the  lessons  which  are  given  us, 
as  to  turn  them  into  a  curse ;  and  every  day  we  make 
them  a  swift  witness  against  us.  We  may  so  number 
our  days  as  to  say  with  the  fool — ''Let  us  eat,  drink, 
and  be  merry,  for  to-morrow  we  die.'^ 

Oh,  suffer  me  to  ask  you  this  all-absorbing,  this 
momentous  question — are  you  interested  in  Christ  ? 
Dost  thou  believe  on  the  Son  of  God  ?  Have  you  a  new 
heart,  and  as  a  necessary  consequence  a  holy  life  ?  Oh  ! 
do  you  walk  with  God  in  sweet  communion  here  on 
earth  ?  If  not,  be  assured  that  your  heart  is  not  right 
in  the  sight  of  God,  and  all  your  pretense  to  piety  is  as 
"  sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbals."  Oh  !  if  my 
departed  brother  could  now  hear  me,  he  would  say — 
*'Yes,  thus  I  preached,  thus  you  preach,  and  thus  we 
must  all  preach  if  we  would  render  up  our  account  with 

It  inculcates  the  wisdom  of  making  the  best  use  of 
our  time.  To  have  labored  for  the  good  of  others  and 
to  the  glory  of  God,  this  is  the  true  wisdom.  Time  is 
invaluable.  It  is  more  precious  than  rubies.  It  cannot 
be  purchased.  Every  moment  should  be  fully  occupied 
ill  engagements  worthy  of  our  attention  as  rational 
creatures  and  heirs  of  immortality.  Every  moment 
should  be  employed  in  doing  good,  and  it  is  wonderful 
how  much  may  be  accomplished  by  the  judicious  ar- 
rangement  of  time.  What  hours,  days,  months,  and 
years  may  be  created  out  of  the  fragments  of  time  which 
many   idle,  thoughtless   persoiis   tju'ow   a,way  i^^  Vi§eje^§ 


OLD     AOE,  329 

amusements — in  sleep  that  rather  injures  than  in- 
vigorates. Oh  !  that  they  understood  these  things — that 
they  would  consider  the  value  of  their  time. 

It  includes  the  wisdom  of  improving  all  the  means  of 
grace  and  all  the  dispensations  of  providence,  our  sab- 
baths and  seasons  of  worship  and  prayer,  our  opportu- 
nities of  retirement,  our  books  of  instruction  and  advan- 
tages. Our  diseases,  infirmities,  calamities,  bereave- 
ments, are  all  means  of  grace — dispensations  of  provi- 
dence, to  be  cultivated  and  improved,  and  are  capable  of 
yielding  beneficial  results. 

Lastly,  it  includes  the  e^njAoying  faithfully  the  talents 
committed  to  our  trust.  Of  these  every  man  has  a  por- 
tion, however  few  or  many.  But  though  you  have  only 
one,  or  only  half  a  one — bear  in  mind  that  it  must  be 
managed  carefully  ;  that  one,  that  half,  must  be  em- 
ployed so  that  He  who  gave  it  may  receive  it  again  with 
usury.  It  is  not  enough  that  you  do  not  use  it.  It  is 
required,  that  you  employ  it  with  as  much  care  as  though 
He  had  given  you  a  number  ;  and  not  as  tlu  servant 
"who  wrapt  it  in  a  napkin  and  hid  it  in  the  earth.'' 
Your  talents  then,  whether  consisting  of  property,  ge- 
nius, station  or  time,  must  not  be  wasted ;  but  diligently 
and  faithfully  employed,  while  you  look  conscientiously 
for  that  which  is  to  render  the  keeping  of  those  talents 
subservient  to  His  glory.  And  as  you  learn  to  "  number 
your  days,''  learn  also  the  wisdom  of  withdraiuing  as 
much  as  possible  your  affections  iYQ)Xi\  earthly  possessions, 
whatever  they  may  be.  Oh,  how  uncertain  they  are  ! 
We  cannot  ensure  them  a  single  hour.  The  man  of 
wealth  says,  as  he  surveys  his  splendid  estate  "  There  is 
much  goods  laid  up  in  store  for  the  morrow  ;  eat,  drink 
and  be  merry."  Lo  !  a  voice  is  heard — "  Thou  fool,  this 
night  thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee  !"  Oh,  nothing 
l](n'e  is  certiiiu  !    There  is  uo  tie  so  strong  that  deatU  will 


330  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

not  dissolve  it.     It  is  true  wisdom,  then,  to  transfer  out 
affections  from  things  temporal  to  the  things  of  eternity. 

And  now  let  us  turn  from  these  reflections  to  dwell 
for  a  few  moments,  on  the  memory  of  that  honored,  and 
illustrious  individual,  by  whose  removal  in  the  meridian 
of  his  da3^s  and  the  zenith  of  his  power  we  have  now  been 
called  together. 

Under  any  ordinary  circumstances,  it  would  be  ex- 
pected to  give  some  estimate  of  the  talents  and  endow- 
ments of  that  departed  saint,  whose  memory  we  have  met 
to  improve.  But  I  feel,  in  the  present  instance,  no  such 
unreasonable  expectation  will  be  entertained  ;  nor  would 
you  highly  esteem  the  modesty  of  the  individual  wlio 
should  entertain  such  a  favorable  opinion  of  his  own 
competency  for  the  task.  Suffice  it  to  say — such  sjplen- 
did  talents  and  vast  and  varied  acquirements  have  rarely, 
if  ever,  been  seen  in  common  with  such  unaffected  mod- 
esty, genuine  humility,  piety,  and  ardent  devotion  of 
every  faculty  to  God.  But,  by  tlie  moral  qualities  of 
his  heart,  and  those  amiable  and  Christian  graces  that 
dignified  his  character,  even  the  intellectual  greatness  of 
his  genius  was  transcended  and  surpassed.  With  what 
meekness  and  child-like  simplicity — with  what  satisfac- 
tion would  he  sit  at  the  feet  of  the  humblest  of  his 
brethren,  to  learn  more  of  his  Saviour  and  of  the  cross  ! 
To  that  cross  he  clung  for  support.  On  that  cross  he 
took  his  stand.  On  that  cross  he  fixed  the  firm,  the 
steady,  and  exclusive  grasp  of  his  faith.  Beside  that 
cross  he  determined  to  abide — a  determination  he  never 
ceased  to  realize.  He  determined  to  know  nothing  else 
as  the  burden  of  his  discourses.  With  that  theme  he  be- 
gan— with  that  theme  he  advanced — with  that  theme, 
with  the  cross,  he  triumphed  ;  and,  under  its  hallowed 
influence,  he  lived  and  died,  in  the  utmost  height  of  a 
well-earned  celebrity,  in  the  zenith  of  hisusefuIuesSj  with 


OLD    AGE.  331 

a  reputation  unblemished,  and  a  character  without 
spot ;  and  now  that  cross  is  the  theme  of  his  exultations 
and  the  burden  of  his  songs  in  heaven  ! 

And  now,  my  beloved  and  honored  and  generous 
friend— farewell.  Be  it  my  aim  to  follow  in  thy  career 
of  usefulness.  My  days  like  thine  may  be  short ;  but  if 
it  may  be  mine  to  meet  thee  in  the  realms  of  glory,  very 
plenty  have  they  been  to  me.  Those  that  were  dear 
to  thee  shall  be  dear  to  me.  Thy  afflicted  widow  and  or- 
phan boy  shall  be  dear  to  me,  as  they  were  to  thee.  To 
them  I  tender  all  those  feelings  of  sympathy  and  regard 
for  their  happiness,  which  my  heart  would  dictate,  but 
my  faltering  tongue  may  not  express.  Farewell !  I  feel 
an  oppressive  sense  of  loneliness.  But  there  is  One  who 
watches  over  and  will  support  us,  and  who  has  said, 
"Lo!  I  am  with  you  always;  be  thou  faithful  unto 
death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life." 


HOLY  AEDOR  AFTER  A  HEAVENLY  STATE. 

EEV.   CHARLES  HYATT. 

AT  THE  TABERNACLE,  CITY  UOAD,  LONDON. 

*'lpray    thee,  lei  me  go  over  and  see  the  good  land  that  is  beyond 
Jordan,  that  goodly  mountain,  and  Lebanon."— D:evt.  iii:  35. 

WHAT  an  interesting  s^'ght  to  behold  an  old  man, 
whose  grey  heirs  and  tottering  limbs  tell  you  that 
he  once  ''bore  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day,"  but 
that  he  is  now  past  labor,  and  is  hastening  to  "  the  house 
appointed  for  all  living." 

When  we  contemplate  such  an  aged  man,  under  the 
idea  of  ''an  old  disciple,"  one  who  can  say  with  Oba- 
diah,  "  I,  thy  servant,  fear  the  Lord  from  my  youth;" 
then  we  look  upon  him  with  pleasure  ;  then  we  unite  to 


333  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

say  with  Solomon,  ^'  the  hoary  head  is  a  crown  of  glory/^ 
seeing  it  is  '^  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness."  Then  we 
reflect  on  tlie  glorious  orb  of  day,  and  remark,  *^thc 
path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light,  shining  more  and 
more  unto  the  perfect  day."  Then,  we  turn  our  atten- 
tion to  the  harvest  field,  and  think  on  the  good  old  man 
"  coming  to  his  grave  in  a  full  age,  like  as  a  shock 
of  corn  cometh  in  his  season/'  Then  we  mark  the 
stately  vessel  entering  into  port  with  its  ricli 
lading  all  safe  and  its  colors  flying,  after  a  long  and 
tempestuous  voyage,  and  we  hear  the  apostle  saying, — 
"  so  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  to  you  abundantly 
into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour, 
Jesus  Christ." 

Well,  such  an  old  man  is  now  set  before  you  in  the 
character  of  Moses.  Picture  to  yourselves  this  man  of  God. 
He  was  "a  hundred  and  twenty  years  old  ;  his  eye  was 
not  dim,  nor  his  natural  force  abated."  See  him  on 
this  side  Jordan,  reminding  the  peoj^le  in  the  camp 
that  they  were  about  to  go  over  to  take  possession  of  the 
promised  land,  and  encouraging  Joshua  to  lead  them  ! 
See  him,  full  of  days,  full  of  zeal,  full  of  grace,  and  pray- 
ing as  in  the  text,  "  Let  me  go  over  and  see  the  good 
land  that  is  beyond  Jordan,  that  goodly  mountain,  and 
Lebanon." 

This  prayer  of  Moses  regarded  the  land  of  Canaan, 
which  Jehovah  had  promised  to  Abraham  and  his  de- 
scendants the  Israelites.  But  that  ^'^  goodly  land  "  was 
a  type  of  heaven  ;  and  viewing  it  as  such,  we  can  easily 
conceive  of  an  aged  saint,  as  he  stands  on  the  verge  of 
another  world,  contemplating  heaven  as  ''the  laomised 
inheritance,"  where  ''  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling, 
and  the  weary  are  at  rest ;"  and  praying  with  Moses,  ''  I 
pray  thee,  let  me  go  over,  and  see  the  good  land  that  is 
beyond  Jordan,  that  goodly  land,  and  Lebanon."    View- 


OLb    ACrE.  ^3ii 

iiig  it  iu  this  light,  wo  may  consider  the  passuge  used 
under  the  New  Testament  dispensation,  as  expressive  of 
holy  ardor  after  a  heavenly  state.  And  we  will  in- 
quire, 

I.  From  what  principle  does  this  desire  after  a  heav- 
enly state  arise  ? 

I.  The  love  of  life  is  natural  to  man.  It  is  a  principle 
which  the  God  of  nature  has  implanted  in  the  breast  of 
all  living  beings,  rational  and  irrational.  The  Christian 
religion  cherishes  tliis  natural  love  of  life,  and  says  to 
every  man,  "  Do  thyself  no  harm  \"  At  the  same  time 
it  unfolds  to  our  view  immortality  and  everlasting  life  , 
removes  from  its  genuine  partakers  the  fear  of  death ; 
and  inspires  the  soul  with  a  holy  "  desire  to  depart  and 
be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better.''  Thus  while  nature 
cherishes  the  love  of  life,  Christianity  enables  us  to  rise 
above  it. 

This  desire  after  heaven  arises  : 

9.  From  having  formed  a  right  estimate  of  the  present 
world. — He  has  passed  tlirougli  the  world,  and  that  not 
as  a  cynic  ;  he  has  mixed  in  the  world's  society,  he  has 
tasted  some  of  its  pleasures,  he  has  acquired  some  of  its 
riches,he  has  enjoyed  some  of  its  esteem;  in  all  these  things 
"the  lines  may  have  fallen  to. him  in  pleasant  places." 
Yet,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he  has  been  taught  to  see  that 
''vanity  of  vanities"  is  inscribed  "  on  all  the  world  calls 
good  or  great."  He  leaves  it  to  the  worldly-minded,  the 
merely  natural  man,  to  say  of  this  world,  "  thou  art  all 
my  desire,  thou  art  my  God!"  His  soul,  born  from  above, 
seeks  heaven  as  its  natural  element,  and  heavenly  things 
as  its  only  portion  ;  and  he  still  prays  with  Moses,  ''I 
beseech  thee,  let  me  go  over  and  see  the  good  land  that 
is  beyond  Jordan,  that  goodly  mountain,  and  Lebanon." 
This  desire  arises, 

2.  From  having  realized  (lie  hJcssiiuj  of  Ime  religion. 


8^4  MEMOPdAL     TRIBUTES. 

Til  ere  is  siicli  a  thing  as  true  enjoyment  in  religion.  "  0 
taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good/^  is  an  Old  Testament 
expression  ;  and  the  ISTew  Testament  expression  is  equiva- 
lent to  it,  *^as  new-born  babes  desire  the  sincere  milk  of 
the  word,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby  ;  if  so  be  ye  have 
tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious/^  This  is  what  we  call 
real  religion,  and  it  is  this  which  excites  such  ardent 
desires  after  heaven. 

What  i^heaven?  What  is  the  spiritual  idea  of  heaven  ? 
It  is  tlie  full  enjoyment  of  our  heavenly  Father's  face. 
We  shall  see  Him  as  he  is,  through  the  medium  of  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lamb  that  Avas  slain. 

What  is  heaven  9  It  is  a  tranquillized  mind :  an 
eternal  and  undisturbed  peace  with  God,  arising  from 
the  assurance  that  sin  is  pardoned,  and  that  God  is 
reconciled.     This  is  the  result  of  justification. 

What  is  heaveiif — It  is  joy  arising  from  a  happy 
union  to  the  ^'spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect^''  You 
have,  doubtless,  had  a  foretaste  of  this  heavenly  enjoy- 
ment when  united  in  church  fellowship  :  when  around 
the  Lord's  table,  you  have  felt  that  you  were  all  one  in 
Christ,  and  united  in  spirit  to  all  '^the  excellent  of  the 
earth. ^'  These,  and  many  other  enjoyments  of  true 
believers,  have  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  enjoyments 
of  the  heavenly  state.  And  having  had  these  foretastes, 
the  soul  is  on  the  wing  for  full  possession.  ^^  Give  me 
this  water,  that  1  thirst  not  !'^  All  wdio  have  tasted  the 
enjoyments  of  real  religion  upon  earth  will  say,  "  I  pray 
thee  let  me  go  over,  and  see  the  good  land  that  is  beyond 
Jordan,  that  goodl}'  mountain  and  Lebanon."  This  de- 
sire arises, 

3.  From  strong  faith  in  the  unspotted  honor  and  in- 
tegrity of  Him  loho  has  promised  this  good  land  to  us. 
The  Christian  believes  that  God  has  graciously  revealed 
of  this  heavenly  state.     It  was  faith  in  God's  promise 


OLi)    AGE.  88f; 

which  inspired  the  Israelites  to  proceed  on  their  march 
through  the  wilderness.  The  same  principle  had  before 
actuated  their  great  progenitor  Abraham  :  he  firmly 
believed  what  God  liad  told  him  ;  and  hence,  ''  he  went 
ont,  not  knowing  whither  he  went/'  When  the  Israelites 
went  out,  they  knew  not  the  road  ;  but  Jehovah  had 
promised  to  gnide  them,  and  the  cloud  and  pillar  were 
with  them  through  all  their  journey. 

Well,  Christian,  aged  Christian,  you  are  going  to 
heaven,  to  the  land  of  which  the  Lord  hath  said,  "  I  will 
give  it  to  3^ou/'  Of  you  it  shall  be  said,  as  it  was  of  the 
patriarclis,  ''They  went  forth  to  go  into  the  land  of 
Canaan  ;  and  into  the  land  of  Canaan  they  came."" 

Thus,  you  see  the  man,  you  see  his  hold  of  heaven. 
You  hear  him  expressing  his  desire,  and  you  find  from 
what  it  arises.  Is  the  character,  is  the  desire  yours  9 
Are  you  thus  ''bringing  forth  fruit  in  old  age?''  Do 
you  thus  long  to  depart,  and  to  be  witli  Christ,  which  is 
far  better  ?  If  so,  there  will  be  proofs  and  evidences, 
which  I  proceed  to  point  out, 

II.  What  are  the  evidences  of  your  truly  desiring  a 
heavenly  state  ? 

1.  Earili  loses  its  attraction. — Brethren,  I  fear  many 
of  you  must  say  with  the  poet, 

*'  This  world  has  many  charms  for  me  I" 

Yes,  it  has  many  charms  :  its  influence  is  wonderfully 
attractive  :  it  draws,  and  many  of  you  run  after.  But 
not  so  the  old  saint ;  not  so  the  aged  Christian  ripe  for 
glory.  He  resists  the  influence  :  he  says  to  the  w^orld, 
"Farewell!  let  me  go;  I  seek  a  better,  that  is,  a 
heavenly  country." 

This  is  not  the  language  of  the  busy  tradesman,  of 
the  man  who  has  determined  to  be  rich,  whose  plans  are 
laid,  but  not  as  yet  accomplished. 


336  MEMOllIAL      TRIBtTTm. 

This  is  not  the  language  of  the  votary  of  pleasure. 
No  ;  the  'Hover  of  pleasure  more  than  of  God/^  is  per- 
petually crying  out,  *^' Who  will  show  me  any  good  ?'' 

Nor  is  it  the  language  of  the  old  miser ;  of  the  man 
whose  heart  is  set  on  his  gold.  Poor,  wretched  man,  hear 
what  the  word  of  God  says:  "Thy  money  perish  with 
thee  r 

For  all  such  men,  '^this  world  has  many  charms/' 
But  Moses  can  say,  ^^Let  me  go  ;  this  world  has  no  attrac- 
tions for  me.''  And  this  was  not  the  language  of  Moses 
only  ;  but  of  David  and  Paul.  Thousands  there  now 
are  who  breathe  the  same  spirit  with  which  these  holy 
men  were  inspired,  and  who  can  sincerely  say,  '^Let  me 
go  over,  and  see  the  good  land  :  I  am  crucified  to  the 
world  ;  I  have  done  wdth  all  its  business ;  let  me  go  to 
Him  whom  my  soul  loveth  V  This  is  the  language  of 
all  who  love  and  fear  God. 

It  is  not  the  feelings  of  the  disappointed  speculator, 
all  whose  Babel  schemes  have  been  frustrated,  and  who, 
because  he  has  been  thus  defeated,  cries  out,  "  Let  me 
go  \"  Neither  is  it  the  excited  feeling  of  the  romantic 
lover,  whose  expectations  have  been  derived  from  false 
notions  ;  whose  hopes  have  been  fed  by  airy  dreams. 

Nor  is  the  spirit  and  temper  of  the  old  churl;  of  the 
man  who  looks  with  disgust  on  all  that  is  passing  around 
him;  who  is  out  of  temper  with  the  young,  with  the 
world,  with  himself;  and  who,  because  he  finds  that 
other  men  have  an  opinion  as  well  as  himself,  and  that 
all  are  not  inclined  to  submit  to  his  dogmatic  tyranny, 
often  exclaims,  "My  soul  is  weary  of  life  !"  This  was 
not  the  feeling  that  animated  the  breast  of  Moses. 

2.  Religion  assumes  its  personal  importance — "  Let 
me  go.''  The  phraseology  is  personal.  Not  that  there  is 
anything  selfish  in  religion  :  the  everlasting  happiness 
of  others  is  never  lost  sight  of  by  a  heavenly-minded 


OLD    AGW.  83? 

saint.  Yet  he  is  not  so  intent  on  the  salvation  of  others, 
as  to  forget  the  interests  of  his  own  soul.  ''  Let  7ne  go  V 
It  is  like  saying,  *'If  there  be  a  Saviour  from  sin,  0,  my 
God,  let  him  perform  his  work  in  my  soul,  and  save  me 
from  all  sin,  in  thought,  in  word,  and  in  deed,  as  well  in 
time  as  in  eternity  !  If  there  be  a  lieaven,  0  let  me  not 
seem  to  come  short  of  it  !"  *^  I  pray  thee,  let  me  go 
over,  and  sec  the  good  land  !" 

3.  There  will  be  a  restlessness  of  desire,  an  iinsettled- 
ness  of  mind,  while  absent  from  the  Lord.  They  feel 
that  this  is  not  their  rest.  There  is  nothing  here  suited 
to  the  desires  and  taste  of  a  renewed  soul.  Paul  was 
desirous  to  ''depart  and  to  be  with  Christ, ^^  he  was  yet 
willing  to  abide  in  the  flesh  for  the  good  of  others. 
Thus  while  the  aged  Christian  prays  for  heaven,  he  yet 
says,  *' The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done,  as  to  time,  and 
place  and  circumstance ;"  well  knowing  that  his  heavenly 
Father^s  time  is  the  best.  Still,  they  are  not  at  home  ; 
and  knowing  that  "while  they  are  present  in  the  body 
they  are  absent  from  the  Lord,"  they  pray  with  Moses, 
**  Let  me  go  over,  and  see  the  good  land  !" — Then,  where 
there  is  this  meetness  for  heaven, 

4.  Death  ivill  lose  its  terrors. — Eeligion  does  not  al- 
together destroy  our  fears  of  death  :  it  may  be,  and  still 
is,  a  terrific  enemy  to  many  a  Christian.  But  it  is  the 
high  privilege  of  the  believer,  whose  character  I  have 
been  describing,  to  be  exempted  from  '^  bondage  through 
the  fear  of  death."  He  knows  how  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  present  circumstances  of  death  and  its  eternal 
consequences. 

III.  Urge  you,  by  some  appropriate  motives,  to  aim  at 
the  attainment  of  this  holy  ardor  after  a  heavenly  state. 

1.  Be  convinced  that  it  is  attainable.  How  many 
Christians  there  are  who  stop  short  of  this  holy  state  of 
mind  !  They  seem  to  be  quite  satisfied  if  they  can  but 
15 


^38  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

arrive  at  heaven,  and  never  manifest  any  anxiety  to  at- 
tain that  perfection  which  is  the  great  preparation  for 
its  enjoyment.  Not  so  the  inspired  apostle  :  he  said, 
**Not  as  though  I  had  already  attained,  or  were  already 
perfect ;  but  I  follow  after,  if  that  I  may  apprehend  that 
for  which  I  also  am  apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus,  I 
press  toward  the  mark,  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling 
of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 

"  He  builds  too  low,  who  builds  below  the  skies." 

Christians  should  aim  at  great  things,  and  expect  great 
things. 

2.  Be  assured,  also  that  this  state  is  desiraUe.  It  is 
desirable  that  you  should  be  thus  dead  to  this  world, 
and  alive  to  that  which  is  to  come,  on  several  accounts. 

Consider  the  personal  advantage  to  the  individual. 
Of  whom  have  we  been  speaking  this  evening  ?  Of  ^'an 
old  disciple  ;'^of  an  aged  believer,  who,  by  his  profession, 
tells  you  that  he  is  not  of  this  world  ;  who  has  for  years 
set  his  face  towards  the  heavenly  Canaan  ;  and  who  now 
while  standing  on  the  brink  of  Jordan  which  ^'divides 
the  heavenly  land  from  ours,^^  is  saying,  with  Moses  in  the 
text,  ^^  I  pray  thee,  let  me  go  over,  and  see  the  good  landT' 
This  is  as  it  ought  to  be  ;  his  hold  of  earth  weak ;  his 
hold  of  heaven  strong. 

But  you  should  aim  for  this  holy  ardor,  because  of 
the  benefit  likely  to  result  to  others.  Can  such  a  city  be 
set  on  a  hill  and  not  observed  !  Can  a  light  of  such 
magnitude  be  placed  on  a  table  and  not  give  light  to  all 
around  ?  Impossible.  Such  a  city  must  be  admired — 
such  a  candle  must  illuminate. 

And  by  this  you  luill,  also,  be  an  honor  to  the  religion 
you  profess. 

*'  Great  God!  and  shall  we  ever  live 
At  this  poor  dying  rate?" 


OLD    AGM.  880 

No  ;  your  ardor  for  a  heavenly  state  will  ennoble  your 
character,  and  you  will  become  '^epistles  known  and 
read  of  all  men/' 

Finally,  Hereby  God  will  he  glorified.  It  is  an  awful 
fact,  that  there  are,  in  this  our  world,  many  who  are 
enimies  to  God,  and  wish  to  rob  him  of  his  glory.  You 
are  the  friends,  the  servants,  the  sons ;  and  to  you  it 
belongs  to  vindicate  his  honor,  to  reflect  his  glory.  But 
who  can  better  do  this  than  the  aged  ?  While  others 
doubt  the  salutary  tendency  of  the  doctrines  of  grace, 
you  can  prove  its  efficacy  :  it  has  made  you  to  differ  from 
others ;  and  it  enables  you,  amidst  surrounding  temp- 
tations, to  lead  a  holy  life.  You  are  an  hourly  witness 
of  the  doctrine  of  divine  forgiveness  ;  a  daily  proof  of 
the  unchangeableness  of  redeeming  love  in  the  midst  of 
a  changing  world.  0  aged  saint,  1  pray  you  aim  con- 
tinually thus  to  rebuke  gainsayers,  and  to  glorify  your 
heavenly  Father. 

In  looking  round  this  vast  assembly,  I  see  many  who 
are  well  stricken  in  years.  Well,  what  are  you  ?  Old  disci- 
ples, or  old  impenitent  sinners — servants  of  God,  or  ser- 
vants of  Satan  ?   "  His  servants  you  are  whom  you  obey.'' 

Aged  saints,  ripe  for  eternal  glory.  We  love  to  dwell 
upon  your  character,  and  to  mark  your  attainments: 
we  love  to  see  you,  to  talk  with  you,  and  to  pray 
with  you  now,  and  we  hope  hereafter  to  see  you  in 
heaven.  It  rejoices  us  to  behold  you  ascending  the  top 
of  Pisgah's  mount,  and  to  hear  you  exclaiming,  "I  pray 
thee,  let  me  go  over  and  see  the  goodly  land."  We  see 
in  you  a  proof  of  the  reality  of  religion,  and  the  efficacy 
of  divine  grace  in  making  and  in  keeping  you  thus  a 
Christian.  Young  persons,  you  wish  to  know  what  the 
grace  of  God  can  do  for  a  man  in  the  present  life;  well 
we  will  not  send  you  to  the  verge  of  the  creation;  we 
need  not  go  beyond  the  present  Christian  society;  we  can 


U6  MEMORIAL    TRIBUTES. 

here  point  you  to  instances  of  what  the  grace  of  God 
lias  done: — what  would  you  have  more  than  we  can 
present  to  3^ou? 

Yes,  aged  saint,  we  love  to  see  you.  You  have  the 
infirmities  common  to  human  nature;  the  outward  man 
is  perishing,  but  the  inward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day. 
You  have  one  foot  in  the  grave,  and  the  other  on  earth; 
but  your  heart  is  in  heaven  where  your  best  treasure  is. 
Yes,  we  love  to  see  you :  you  are  ripe  for  glory.  And 
what  has  made  you  thus?  You  are  changed  by  the 
power  of  divine  grace;  you  have  found  religion  to  be  a 
source  of  true  enjoyment,  and  now  you  find  it  support- 
ing and  lifting  you  up.  Young  Christians,  what  would 
you  have  to  encourage  you  which  you  do  not  find  here? 
You  have  notliing  to  pass  through  which  these  have  not 
j)assed  through  before  you.  Yes,  aged  saint,  we  love  to 
visit  you,  and  to  contemplate  your  end.  Yoar  eyes  grow 
dim,  and  the  description  given  by  Solomon  of  the  decays 
of  age  are  verified  in  you;  but  as  your  outward  man 
decays,  your  inward  man  waxes  stronger  and  stronger. 
Old  man,  rejoice  in  what  is  before  you:  you  are  taken  up 
with  the  necessary  affairs  of  life;  your  head  and  your 
hands  are  often  diligently  employed  ;  but  you  shall  soon 
be  gathered  to  your  everlasting  rest:  as  the  late  vener- 
able and  pious  John  Newton  in  his  last  days,  when  asked 
how  he  felt  his  mind  in  the  prospect  of  eternity,  replied, 
"I  am  like  a  letter  fully  written,  subscribed,  and  sealed; 
and  only  waiting  for  the  postman  to  call  and  take  it  to 
its  destination." 

Aged  saint!  you  have  often  said,  '^I  pray  thee,  let 
me  go  over  and  see  the  goodly  land  that  is  beyond  Jor- 
dan, that  goodly  mountain,  and  Lebanon."  Soon  will 
the  voice  of  your  beloved  Saviour  address  you,  '^  Thy 
prayer  is  heard,  thy  request  shall  he  granted — come  up 
hither,  and  he  forever  with  thy  Lord.^^ 


MEMORIAL  TRIBUTES. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


A  PHILANTHROPIST. 

A  BUENING  AN^D  SHINING  LIGHT. 
W.  J.  K.  TAYLOR,  D.D. 

COMMEMORATIVE   OF  THE   HON.    THEODORE   FRELINGHUYSEN,    LL.D.,  IN   THIRD 
REFORMED   CHURCH,    PHILADELPHIA. 

*' He  was  a  burning  and  a  shining  light:  and  ye  were  willing  for  a 
season  to  rejoice  in  his  light. — John  v  :  35. 

XTOW  beautiful  this  designation  of  the  Forerunner  is, 
we  may  learn  by  a  brief  analysis. 
I.  He  was  a  '^  light."  But  of  what  kind  ?  Literally 
the  word  in  the  original  means  a  portable  light,  as  a 
candle,  lamp,  or  torch,  which  must  be  made,  prepared, 
and  kindled  into  a  flame.  He  was  not  the  uncreated 
Light,  *'the  Sun  of  righteousness."  **  He  was  not  that 
Light,  but  was  sent  to  bear  witness  of  that  Light.  That 
was   the   true  Light    which  lighteth   every   man   that 


343  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

cometli  into  this  world."  The  greatest  of  all  the 
prophets  was  but  a  lamp,  a  torch,  compared  with  Christ, 
the  full-orbed  and  Eternal  Sun. 

II.  But  *'he  was  a  burning  light."  He  was  on  fire, 
burning,  blazing  with  self-consuming  ardor  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God.  He  had  '^  oil  in  his  vessel  with  his  lamj),'' 
and  it  never  went  out  for  lack  of  fuel.  The  Baptist, 
like  our  Saviour,  was  ever  full  of  his  work.  His  zeal 
consumed  him.  His  devotion  burned  with  the  most  in- 
tense fire  of  love.  It  glowed  like  a  furnace  at  a  white 
heat.  It  sent  out  its  own  radiating  and  reflecting  fire, 
until  the  wilderness  was  kindled  by  its  flames,  and  the 
nation  was  aglow  with  his  awful  power.     But 

III.  ^^  He  was  a  burning  and  a  shining  light.'^  Some 
fires  burn  but  do  not  blaze,  nor  is  it  every  flame  that 
gives  true  light.  There  must  be  something  to  burn, 
some  solid  chemical  matter  in  every  flame  that  makes  an 
illumination.  So  there  are  souls  which  consume  away 
but  do  not  shine.  But  John  the  Baptist  burned  and 
shone,  because  his  light  was  light  from  heaven.  It  was 
not  stolen  like  the  fabled  Promethean  fire,  but  it  was 
kindled  at  the  uncreated  and  eternal  source  ;  and  then 
it  was  set  where  all  could  see  it  and  rejoice  in  it,  while 
it  flamed  heavenward  from  earth. 

Yet  ^' that  burning  and  shining  light"  went  out;  it 
burned  fast ;  it  shone  but  a  little  while,  and  then  he 
who  was  the  lamp  that  lighted  our  Saviour^s  feet  on 
earth,  was  made  one  of  the  brightest  of  the  stars  that 
burn  and  shine  forever  and  ever  before  the  throne  of 
God. 

When  God  raises  up  eminent  Christians,  endows  them 
with  gifts  and  graces,  and  honors  them  and  their  work 
for  Jesus^  sake  ;  the  Church  is  bound  by  her  loyalty  to 
ber  King,  and  by  her  debt  to  redeeming  love,  to  ^^  rejoice 
in  that  light  and  to  walk  in  it'"*  ^^for  the  season"  dur- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  343 

ing  wliicli  it  lasts.  Every  such  believer  in  Christ  is  a 
miracle  and  monument  of  grace.  The  blood  of  Christ 
has  been  sprinkled  on  him,  the  love  of  Christ  constrains 
him,  the  witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  within  him,  and 
his  seal  ujDon  him.  His  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  He  burns  and  shines  with  love  divine.  He 
does  the  work  of  Christ.  He  obeys  the  word  and  will 
of  Christ.  '^  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world,  &c."  And 
when  our  Lord  takes  these  "  burning  and  shining 
lights  ^'  away  from  the  Church  on  earth,  they  go  not 
out  in  endless  night,  but  he  transfers  them  to  the 
temple  ^'that  is  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens."  He  takes  them  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  place 
where  they  burn  and  shine  forever  with  brighter  lustre 
and  with  purer  flame. 

In  this  spirit  let  us  now  turn  to  see  the  illustration  of 
tliese  truths  in  the  character  and  death  and  influences  of 
that  eminent  servant  of  the  Lord  for  whom  we  lament, 
and  yet  praise  God  to-day. 

The  object  of  this  discourse  is  not  to  present  a 
biographical  sketch  nor  to  attempt  a  full-length  portrait 
of  our  "  American  Wilbcrforce/'  but  simply  to  exhibit 
some  of  tliose  characteristics  which  have  made  him  for 
more  than  a  generation  '^a  burning  and  a  shining 
light"  in  the  Church  and  in  the  nation.  Against  the 
dark  background  of  our  unhappy  times  his  character 
stands  in  bright  and  bold  relief,  admired  by  millions, 
and  beloved  by  all  who  know  the  man  and  his  native  and 
gracious  worth. 

A  Christian  is  not  the  one  to  undervalue  a  descent 
from  godly  forefathers.  The  ancestors  of  Theodore 
Freliiighuysen,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Holland, 
were  eminent  for  their  love  of  liberty,  their  independ- 
ence of  spirit,  and  their  intelligent  attachment  to  the 
tri]tli  of  God.     Li  character,  religion,  and  statesman^jhip, 


344  MEMORTAL     TRIBUTEH. 

his  lineage  was  equally  honorable  and  blessed  of  God, 
who  has  made  him  the  most  illustrious  of  his  name. 

Let  me  speak  to  you  of  his  character.  By  the  con- 
current testimony  of  the  whole  nation  as  expressed  in 
private  and  public,  in  the  pulpit  and  at  the  forum,  and 
through  the  press,  *^  he  was  a  burning  and  a  shining 
light, ^'  and  '^  we  rejoiced  for  a  season  in  his  light." 

It  would  be  hard  to  say  what  particular  gifts  and 
traits  made  that  light  so  bright.  He  was  a  man  of  emi- 
nent intellectual  gifts,  and  of  scholarly  tastes  ;  an  orator 
of  no  mean  fame  and  of  classic  eloquence  ;  a  lawyer  who 
adorned  the  able  bar  of  his  native  State  ;  a  Senator  who 
stood  high  in  the  front  ranks  when  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  contained  its  greatest  lights.  But  it  was 
the  final  balance  of  his  powers,  the  beautiful  adjustment 
of  intellectual  and  moral  qualities  with  refinement  of 
culture,  admirable  judgment,  and  unique  individuality 
of  character,  speech  and  action,  which  constituted  the 
general  excellence  of  the  man.  In  this  happy  combina- 
tion of  characteristics  without  the  striking  preponder- 
ance of  any  one  intellectual  gift,  he  was  not  unlike  our 
matchless  Washington. 

Perhaps  the  best  designation  of  his  character  would 
be  its  purity.  No  miser's  covetousness  wrote  its  hateful 
legends  on  his  calm  brow.  Nobody  looked  in  his  shadow 
for  *^ treason,  stratagems,  and  spoils;''  for  lurking  cun- 
ning, nor  for  that  peculiar  malice  with  which  hardened 
age  sometimes  steels  its  withered  nerves.  He  was  like 
the  crystal,  solid  but  translucent.  You  could  see  through 
him,  and  love  him,  because  he  unconsciously  sought  and 
bore  the  test  of  sunlight.  Like  Nathaniel,  when  he 
came  to  Jesus,  he  was  '^an  Israelite  indeed  in  whom  there 
was  no  guile.  ^' 

But  it  was  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  which  gave  to 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  his  chief  distinction.     He  was  the 


MISCELLANEOUS.  345 

CJiristian  lawyer,  the  Christian  senator,  the  Christian 
l^hilanthropist,  the  Christian  gentleman,  the  Christian 
always  and  everywhere.  His  honesty  and  integrity,  his 
eloquence  and  his  power  were  all,  like  himself,  "  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost/'  *^The  blood  of  sprinkling^'  was  on 
the  posts  of  his  doors,  on  his  family,  his  calling,  on  every 
service  that  he  rendered  to  the  country  or  to  the  cause  of 
Christ. 

I  know  no  finer  instance  of  the  vast  increase  of 
power  which  religion  gives  to  a  man  of  intellect  and 
education. 

When  his  name  was  proposed  in  the  caucus  of  the 
National  Convention,  for  Vice-President,  on  the  same 
ticket  with  Henry  Clay,  a  distinguished  Southern  lawyer 
opposed  it  in  these  words  :  ^'  I  know  him  well ;  I  admire 
and  love  him  :  if  I  were  searching  the  world  over  for  a 
man  to  be  my  pastor,  my  spiritual  guide,  I  would  seek 
Theodore  Frelinghuysen  of  all  men  living ;  but  to  drag 
him  through  the  mire  of  party  politics  at  the  tail  of  a 
presidential  ticket,  I  will  never  consent  to  it — never, 
never  !"  Still  he  was  nominated,  and  failed  of  an  elec- 
tion, that  would  have  placed  in  the  second  office  of  the 
nation  one  of  the  purest  of  statesmen. 

But  God  had  better  things  in  store  for  his  honored 
servant.  Both  before  and  after  his  retiracy  from  politi- 
cal life,  he  was  the  most  eminent  living  American  repre- 
sentative of  the  great  moral,  philanthropic  and  religious 
institutions  of  the  age.  Nothing  that  concerned  the 
welfare  of  humanity  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  was 
foreign  to  him.  Philanthropy  has  had  no  more  noble  ad- 
vocate, Christianity  no  more  devout  pattern  of  its  broad, 
graces  and  of  its  deep,  genuine  catholicity.  The  whole 
Church  of  Clirist  in  these  United  States  claims  him  as  the 
type,  embodiment  and  representative  of  Christian  Union 
10* 


346  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

and  of  that  ^"^ unity  of  the  spirit"  which  is  '*the  bond 
of  peace,"  and  '^  of  j)erfectness."  No  better  proof  of  this 
can  be  named  than  the  sinsrular  fact  that  at  one  time  he 
held  the  office  of  President  in  those  tliree  great  national 
and  catholic  institutions,  the  American  Bible -Society, 
the  American  Tract  Society,  and  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  He  was  a  theolo- 
gian of  ample  acquirements,  of  rigid  evangelical  views, 
and  of  thorough  orthodoxy  according  to  the  Calvinistic 
standard  of  Dordrecht  and  Westminister.  All  his 
ancestral,  traditional,  and  local  associations,  his  consti- 
tutional tendencies,  his  education,  and  his  conscientious 
convictions,  united  to  make  him  a  living  type  of  ^^  the 
good  old  ways  of  the  Eeformation."  He  was  neither  a 
bigot  nor  a  latitudinarian.  He  stood  upon  the  highest 
ground  of  unsectariun  Christianity,  and  yet  like  a  good 
soldier  of  Jesus  Christ  he  obeyed  that  apostolic  injunc- 
tion :  ^^  Watch  ye,  stand  fast  in  the  faith,  quit  you  like 
men,  be  strong.  Let  all  your  things  be  done  with 
charity."     (1  Cor.  16:  13,  14.) 

His  faith,  and  his  love  for  Christ  and  his  cause,  were 
measured  by  the  world,  the  Bible,  and  the  Cross.  With 
him  ''  there  was  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  bond  nor  free, 
male  nor  female  :  for  all  are  one  in  Christ  Jesus."  (Gal. 
3:  28.) 

He  was  a  regular  attendant  of  the  union  daily  pi-aycr- 
mectings  which  v/ere  held  in  New  Brunswick  during  and 
since  the  late  revival,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  the  exer- 
cises, and  an  humble  scat  among  the  lowly.  For  many 
years  during  his  legal  practice  while  a  Senator  in  Con- 
gress, when  Chancellor  of  the  University,  and  afterward, 
when  President  of  Eutgers  College,  he  was  a  Sabbath- 
school  teacher,  who  loved  his  work,  deemed  it  one  of  his 
highest  honors,  and  found  in  it  a  comfort  and  reward  of 
which  he  now  enjoys  the  full  fruition. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  347 

Another  pre-eminent  trait  of  his  Christian  character 
was  his  faithfuhiess.  He  could  ^^  reprove,  rebuke,  ex- 
hort, with  all  long-suffering  and  gentleness/^  He  did 
this  with  an  authority  which  only  goodness  can  com- 
mand. The  righteous  indignation  which  the  sacred 
writers  show  against  sin,  and  their  fidelity  to  truth,  and 
to  the  transgressor,  were  richly  displayed  in  the  habitual 
conduct  of  Mr.  Frelinghaysen.  This  was  the  outwork- 
ing of  a  principle  within  him,  which  grew  stronger  and 
briglitor  with  his  experience.  Every  body  felt  it.  From 
the  Senate  Chamber  to  the  farthest  bounds  of  the  Union, 
the  wise  and  good  of  the  whole  land  rejoiced  in  his  light. 
It  burned  and  it  shone  for  all  the  people. 

There  is  one  other  characteristic  of  this  venerated 
man,  which  cannot  be  omitted  in  even  the  most  super- 
ficial view  of  his  traits.  He  was  the  beau  ideal  of  a 
Christian  patriot.  The  motto  of  his  life  was  :  *'  For 
Christ  and  my  country.''  I  need  not  stop  to  tell  this 
audience  how  he  exemplified  his  love  of  country.  It 
was  a  part  of  the  man  and  of  his  life. 

During  his  last  illness,  and  up  to  the  day  of  his 
death,  his  country  was  upon  his  heart,  and  upon  his 
tongue,  and  in  his  prayers.  And  when  from  almost 
every  public  building  and  private  house  in  the  city,  the 
good  old  flag  floated  at  half-mast  over  his  unburied 
corpse,  the  people  felt  that  America  and  the  Union  had 
lost  the  very  Daniel  of  the  time. 

His  death  was  preceded  by  an  illness  of  a  few  Aveeks 
duration,  attended  by  severe  suffering.  But  grace  was 
triumphant  there.  The  faith  which  he  had  humbly 
adorned  so  long  was  his  victory.  The  Saviour  whom  he 
loved  so  well,  was  ''Christ  in  him  the  hope  of  glory." 
Notwithstanding  he  had  been  prone  to  constitutional 
religious  depression,  and  had  during  long  years  felt  those 
Iqwxh  of  death  which  trouble  many  of  God's  dear  child- 


348  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

ren,  tliey  were  all  dispelled  by  the  grace  which  was 
given  him.  The  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  was 
made  light  about  him.  His  end  was  peace — perfect 
peace — which  was  the  effect  of  the  assurance  of  hope 
unto  the  end.  His  was  not  the  death  of  one  '^  who 
wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch  about  him  and  lies  down 
to  pleasant  dreams.^'  But  he  died  in  the  faith  which  he 
had  loved, 

' '  His  eye  bright  with  hope, 
Flashing  its  birthright  radiance  unto  heaven, 
Drinking  revealments  of  God's  paradise." 

Amid  the  prayers  and  the  praises  of  a  great  multitude 
of  the  best  citizens  of  the  land,  with  tears  and  with  love, 
his  body  was  laid  in  the  grave  of  the  righteous,  among 
the  sepulchers  of  many  honored  and  sainted  dead,  to 
await  "the  resurrection  of  the  just.^' 

Yes  I  yes !  He  was  a  burning  and  a  shining  light, 
and  we  rejoiced  in  his  light  for  a  season  !  "  Oh  !  give 
thanks  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  is  good — to  him  that  made 
great  lights — for  his  mei'cy  cndureth  forever." 

The  beneficent  grandeur  of  such  a  character  deserves 
peculiar  attention  in  this  troublous  time.  Nature  had 
done  much  for  him  ;  but  grace  did  more.  It  gave  this 
^^salt  its  savor. "^  His  world-wide  charity,  his  deep  piety, 
his  representative  character,  his  high  example,  are  before 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  Wherever  the  American  tract, 
the  American  missionary,  and  the  American  Bible,  "go 
into  all  tlie  world  preacliing  the  gospel  to  every 
creature,"  they  carry  with  them  the  influence  and  the 
prayers  of  this  prince  of  God.  To  our  American  youth 
he  is  the  pattern  of  patriotism,  professional  purity,  and 
success,  and  of  sanctified  ambition,  with  modesty, 
humility,  and  faitlifiil  piety.  To  the  legal  profession  he 
is  "■  the  burning  and  shining  light"  of  its  learning,  its 


MtSOELTANEOiJ^.  U^ 

integrity,  its  eloquence,  and  its  legitimate  power  in  the 
state.  To  our  country,  and  its  rulers,  he  is  the  model 
of  its  wisest  counselors,  its  best  citizens,  and  its  most 
Christian  loyalty.  To  the  Church  he  is  the  type  of  her 
most  eminent  servants  in  her  Sabbath-school,  her  elder- 
shij),  her  ecclesiastical  courts,  and  her  benevolent  opera- 
tions. To  every  one  of  us  he  is  the  jiattern  of  the 
decided  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  '^walking 
softly  before  God,  and  occupying  his  talents  until  his 
Lord  came.^' 


A  THEOLOGICAL  PROFESSOE. 

REV.     GEORGE    P.     FISHER, 
LIVINGSTON"  PROFESSOR  OF    DIVINITY   IN  TALE  COLLEGE. 

,   A   DISCOURSE   ON   THE    DEATH   OF   DR.    N.    W,    TAYLOR. 

*'  And  they  that  he  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  tlie  firma- 
ment ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars 
for  ever  and  ever. " — Daniel  xii :  3. 

TT/'HAT  glorious  promises  are  held  out,  in  the  Bible, 
*  ^  to  those  who  spend  their  lives  in  bringing  sin- 
ners to  God  !  They  are  pronounced  blessed  even  in 
their  persecutions.  Having  a  part  in  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,  they  go  to  reign  with  ..im  on  high.  They  are 
forever  lifted  above  the  troubles  of  this  dying  existence, 
as  the  firmament  is  exalted  above  the  earth.  In  the 
sphere  to  which  they  are  removed  they  are  like  the  stars 
set  in  the  tranquil  sky.  No  man  can  pluck  them  down 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  Father.  They  are  together  there 
in  heaven,  shining  on  one  another  with  a  mingled  radi- 
ance, reflected  from  "  the  Lamb  who  is  the  light  there- 
of.'^  They  do  not  die  and  pass  away  like  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth,  but  they  resemble  tli(>  .-tars  wliicli  have  held 


350  MEMO  Hi  A  L      TniDUT^S. 

their  course  undimmed  from  the  morning  of  creation  un- 
til now.  Their  life  is  everlasting — an  everlasting  prog- 
ress in  knowledge,  and  purity,  and  blessedness.  Yea, 
when  the  stars  shall  fall,  and  the  heaven  depart  as  a 
scroll,  the  Apostles  of  God  will  continue  near  their  Re- 
deemer forever  and  ever  ! 

We  cherish  the  hope  that  the  venerated  father  whose 
body  we  have  lately  committed  to  the  grave,  was  a  true 
minister  of  Christ,  and  that  Christ  was  with  him,  ac- 
cording to  the  promise,  unto  the  end,  and  that  now  he 
is  with  Christ  in  the  mansions  prepared  for  His  follow- 
ers. We  honor  the  Creator  when  we  recognize  any  real 
excellence  to  be  found  in  his  creature.  We  honor  the 
Saviour  when  we  admire  the  fruit  of  his  grace,  and  con- 
template the  work  of  those  whom  he  has  led  by  the 
hand.  Only  let  us  keep  in  mind  the  words  of  John  the 
Baptist — himself  ^^  a  burning  and  shining  light  ^^ — '^^A 
man  can  receive  nothing  except  it  be  given  him  from 
heaven. '^ 

Dr.  Taylor  combined  two  powers  seldom  found  to- 
gether— the  powers  of  a  metaphysician  and  of  an  orator. 
His  faculty  of  long-continued  abstraction  was  wonderful, 
and  the  subtlety  of  his  analysis  strained  the  attention  of 
the  most  acute  of  his  pupils.  His  powerful  mind  found 
recreation  in  those  forms  of  activity  which,  to  common 
men,  are  a  most  irksome  task.  In  the  department  of  in- 
tellectual science,  he  stands,  by  general  consent,  in  the 
first  rank.  Yet,  mixed  with  the  accurate,  reflective, 
keenly  discriminating  habit  of  his  mind,  and  glowing 
beneath  it  was  the  fire  of  an  orator.  He  loved  to  con- 
vince others,  and  to  carry  them  with  him.  In  the  pres- 
ence of  an  assembly,  even  in  the  presence  of  a  few 
congenial  listeners,  liis  mind  would  kindle  and  his  man- 
ner become  eloquent.  Among  his  most  stirring,  as  well 
as  instructive  efforts,  vroro  t]io  extemporaneous  decisions 


Miscellaneous.  35I 

which  he  was  formerly  accustomed  to  pronounce  in  the 
students'  debating  society,  over  which  he  presided.  In- 
deed, his  mind  seemed  always  to  be  in  lively  motion  ; 
and  it  was  his  complaint  tlirough  his  whole  life  that  he 
could  get  but  little  sleep.  When  the  night  came,  his 
brain  refused  to  cease  from  its  work. 

If  you  look  for  the  secret  of  the  uncommon  influence 
which  be  exerted  over  his  students,  you  may  find  it  in, 
part,  in  the  j^ersonal  traits  which  have  been  already 
named.  They  were  struck,  on  their  first  acquaintance 
with  bim,  with  the  superiority  of  his  mtellect.  There 
was  a  fascination  in  the  manifest  independence  of  bis 
character.  It  was  evident  that  be  called  no  man  master. 
He  taught  tbem  to  tbrow  away  the  authority  of  names, 
and  to  think  for  tbemselves.  He  stimulated  tbem  by 
putting  bis  propositions  in  paradoxical  and  startling 
forms.  He  gave  them  to  understand  that  be  was  not 
satisfied  with  the  expositions  of  theology  in  tbe  current 
treatises  ;  and  that  be  lectured,  because  be  bad  tilings  to 
say  which  had  not  been  said  before.  He  challenged  tbem 
to  examine  all  his  teachings  in  tbe  light  of  their  own  in- 
telligence, to  bring  forward  all  the  objections  which  they 
could  think  of,  urging  them  to  proj)ose  questions,  and 
ending  every  lecture  with  the  words  :  ^'Now  I  will  bear 
you."  He  made  it  clear  that  he  was  not  discbargiug  a 
mechanical  function,  that  he  was  not  fettered  with  false 
notions  of  professional  dignity,  but  that  be  was  intent  on 
his  great  object,  and  was  ready  to  trample  on  any  mere 
forms  that  migbt  stand  in  bis  way.  Tbe  courage  of  Dr. 
Taylor  fascinated  young  meu.  For  be  was  eminently 
courageous.  He  had  never  learned  the  trick  of  conceal- 
ing his  opinions.  In  controversy,  he  would  know  noth- 
ing of  stratagem,  but  marched  boldly  up  in  the  face  of 
bis  antagonist. 

He  has  been  properly  styled  tbe  last  of  "our  Kew  Eng- 


nn2  MeuortAl    Tnrntmt!&. 

land  Schoolmen,  in  the  special  themes  which  absorbed  his 
attention,  in  his  method  of  handling  them,  and  in  the 
extent  of  his  influence  over  the  clergy,  the  compeer  of 
Emmons  and  Hopkins,  of  Smalley  and  the  Edwardses. 
The  animosities  of  theological  strife  die  away.  One 
generation  stones  the  prophet  and  the  next  builds  his 
sepulchre.  The  memory  of  Dr.  Taylor  will  be  generally 
honored.  His  name  will  soon  be  historic  ;  and  the  col- 
lege where  he  was  educated,  and  where,  for  thirty-five 
years,  he  has  taught,  will  be  proud  to  place  it  high  on 
the  list  of  illustrious  divines  who  have  adorned  its  annals. 

They  Avho  knew  Dr.  Taylor  best,  do  not  need  to  be 
further  reminded  of  the  depth  of  his  affections  and  tiie 
religious  earnestness  that  appeared  in  his  daily  life.  He 
held  a  steru  mastery  over  his  feelings,  but  now  and  then 
they  broke  through  the  barrier,  and  the  floods  of  emotion 
that  poured  forth  betrayed  the  depth  of  the  fountain. 
How  he  loved  his  family,  those  long  nights  spent  in 
prayer,  when  temptation  or  distress  was  impending,  are 
a  touching  witness.  How  his  sympathies  flowed  out  to 
his  parishioners,  their  lasting  gratitude,  and  the  tears  of 
gray-haired  men  who  followed  him  to  the  grave,  are  a 
significant  proof.  The  cordiality  of  his  attachment  to 
friends  and  pupils  is  seen  in  the  sorrow  of  so  many  scat- 
tered over  different  States  of  the  Union,  and  in  distant 
lands,  who  will  mourn  as  personally  bereaved. 

In  character,  as  in  name,  he  was  the  Israelite  in  whom 
was  no  guile.  Some  time  since,  when  compelled  by  his 
infirmities  to  lay  down  his  pen  for  the  larger  part  of  every 
day,  he  casually  remarked  to  me  that  he  occupied  him- 
self with  religious  meditation  ;  to  that  kind  of  medita- 
tion, he  said,  his  strength  was  adequate.  More  recently, 
when  fully  aware  of  the  near  approach  of  death,  he  ex- 
pressed his  calm  trust  in  God,  and  his  desire  to  depart  as 
Stephen  did,   uttering  the  petition:    "Lord  Jesus,  re- 


MIS  GELLANEO  US.  353 

celve  my  spirit."  To  his  best  earthly  friend,  he  said: 
''When  the  time  comes  for  me  to  die,  I  want  you  to  be 
perfectly  calm,  and  when  I  am  called  to  go,  I  want 
you  to  let  me  go ;  and  the  widow's  God  will  be  your 
God/'    ''    * 

It  is  liard  for  me  to  realize  the  fact  that  Dr.  Taylor 
is  dead.  I  expect  to  hear  his  familiar  step  at  my  door. 
I  expect  him  to  come  forward  and  greet  me  as  I  enter 
his  house.  I  think  of  him  as  an  aspiring  boy,  journey- 
ing to  college  from  his  father's  house,  his  future  career 
all  unseen  before  him.  I  think  of  him  as  a  vigorous 
youth,  grappling  with  the  hard  problem  of  Foreknowl- 
edge and  Will,  with  the  determination  to  solve  it  or  die 
in  the  endeavor.  1  think  of  the  beauty  of  his  person 
and  the  majesty  of  his  eloquence,  when,  in  the  center  of 
his  manhood,  great  congregations  hung  on  liis  lips  in 
rapt  attention.  I  behold  him  as  I  first  saw  him,  an  old 
man,  but  with  spirits  still  buoyant,  and  all  the  energies 
of  his  mind  in  full  exercise,  discoursing,  in  his  lecture- 
room,  on  the  grounds  of  guilt  and  responsibility  to  God. 
I  see  him  as  he  was  but  lately,  when,  weary  under  the 
weight  of  his  years  and  his  trials,  he  walked  through  the 
streets  with  slow  and  painful  steps,  pausing  here  and 
there  to  talk  with  some  old  parishioner  on  the  things 
that  pertain  to  tlie  kingdom  of  God ;  and  again,  as  he 
lay  in  weakness  on  the  bed  from  which  he  never  arose  ; 
and  at  last  I  think  of  his  noble  features  on  which  death 
had  set  his  seal.  Yet  his  life  seems  unfinished.  It  is 
unfinished.  He  has  not  died,  but  gone  to  another  life, 
leaving  the  worn  garment  of  mortality  which  he  needs 
no  more.  Dark  clouds  may  settle  on  the  face  of  the 
evening  sky,  and  seem  to  blot  out  the  sun,  while  that 
luminary  is  rising  on  other  regions,  and  rejoicing  as  a 
strong  man  to  run  a  race. 

Yet  his  earthly  life  is  ended  forever.     Never  again 


B54  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTE. 

will  he  enter  this  sanctuary  where  he  has  so  long  bowed 
in  worship.  In  these  places  where  be  has  been  seen  for 
half  a  century,  he  will  never  more  appear.  That  deep- 
toned  Toice  is  hushed  in  death.  That  tongue  is  silent 
forever.  Soon  all  tbat  was  mortal  in  him  whom  we  hon- 
ored, will  be  mingled  with  the  dust.  To  see  so  much 
manhood  fade  away — shall  it  not  impress  on  us  the  vanity 
of  the  earth  ?  Shall  it  not  rebuke  the  pride  of  the 
young  who  feel  strong  and  safe  in  their  strength  ?  '^  For 
what  is  your  life  ?  It  is  even  a  vapor,  that  appearetli 
for  a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away.^^  Let  this 
solemn  event  turn  our  minds  to  the  true  purpose  of  life, 
and  teach  us  how  v/orthless,  by  themselves,  are  all  earthly 
things.  Of  w^hat  importance,  now,  to  our  deceased 
friend  are  the  admiration  and  reproach  whicli  he  re- 
ceived, both  in  so  large  a  measure,  from  his  fellow- 
mortals  ?  In  itself  considered,  of  how  little  moment 
that  he  rose  to  an  intellectual  pre-eminence  among  them? 
Or  even  that  he  has  built  up  with  so  much  toil,  a  theo- 
logical system  that  is  called  by  his  name!  Tliat  system, 
whatever  value  it  may  have  at  present,  will  be  supplanted, 
and  in  time  will  pass  away.  For  the  truth  does  not 
abide  in  one  form  of  expression  ;  and  it  is  ever  showing 
new  phases,  and  casting  off  the  alloy  of  error. 

"Our  little  systems  have  their  day, 

They  have  their  day,  and  cease  to  be  ; 
They  are  but  broken  lights  of  Thee, 

And  thou,  O  Lord  !  art  more  than  they." 

"Whether  there  be  knowledge  it  shall  vanish  away; 
for  we  know  in  part.'^  ^^For  now  w^e  see  through  a  glass 
darkly."*^  In  the  light  of  eternity,  our  departed  teacher 
may  have  learned  more,  in  these  last  few  days,  than  in 
his  life-time  before.  He  has  left  behind  an  influence; 
he  has  Ijorne  away  a  character.     Our  joy  is  not  in  his 


MISCELLANEOUS.  3^5 

talents;  in  the  productions  of  his  intellect,  or  in  his 
earthly  fame  ;  but  our  joy  is  in  the  belief  that  he  lived  to 
glorify  God,  and  that  his  controlling  purpose  was  to  do 
good.  We  rejoice  in  the  confidence  that,  in  the  great 
ends  which  he  set  before  him,  he  was  an  obedient  follower 
of  the  Saviour,  patiently  endeavoring  to  do  His  Avill  and 
humbly  trusting  in  His  mercy  for  salvation.  And  the 
source  of  the  satisfaction  with  which  we  review  his  life, 
is  the  fact  that  he  was  employed,  by  the  Eedeemer,  as 
an  instrument  of  turning  a  multitude  to  righteousness. 
To  the  Redeemer  be  all  the  glory  ! 

In  concluding  this  imperfect  tribute  to  my  venerated 
and  beloved  teacher,  let  me  urge  the  young  men  of  this 
assembly,  in  whose  welfare  my  heart  is  deeply  interested, 
to  follow  him  as  he  followed  Christ.  Not  to  disparage 
other  occupations  to  which  you  may  be  inclined,  what 
can  you  do  more  worthy,  than  to  devote  yourself,  as  he 
did,  to  the  work  of  a  Gospel  minister  ?  What  object 
can  you  figure  to  yourself  so  high  as  the  turning  of  im- 
mortal men  from  sin  unto  righteousness  ?  Whatever 
self-sacrifice  may  belong  to  it,  what  work  will,  on  the 
whole,  yield  you  so  much  peace  while  you  live  ?  Con- 
trast tlie  life  of  a  faithful  preacher,  in  its  lofty  studies, 
its  in.spiring  and  delightful  duties,  with  tlie  thorny 
path  of  political  ambition  ! 

But  aside  from  the  consideration  of  temporal  happi- 
ness, when  the  hour  of  death  shall  come — and  it  will 
come  much  sooner  than  you  can  now  realize — what  life 
will  you  wished  to  have  lived  ?  At  the  portal  of  the 
eternal  world,  as  you  look  back  on  the  past,  what  work 
will  you  desire  to  have  done  ?  Oh  !  how  unspeakable  is 
the  privilege  of  him  Avho,  in  that  parting  hour,  can  take 
to  himself  the  promise  of  the  text !  Blessed  are  they  to 
whom  it  is  given  to  turn  many  to  righteousness,  and  to 
shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever  ! 


3oC  MEMORIAL      TlUBUTtiS, 


A   LAWYER,   EDITOR    AND    COLLEGE    PRO- 
FESSOR. 

MEMORIAL   DISCOURSE   ON  WILLIAM  G.  GODDARD,    LL.  D. 

DELIVERED  AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  THE  FACULTY  OP  BROWN  UNIVERSITY. 

ERAN'CIS  WAYLAIsTD,  D.  D. 

PRESIDENT   OF    BROWN    UNIVERSITY. 

T  RISE  to  perform  one  of  the  saddest  duties  to  which  I 
have  been  appointed.  My  colleagues  have  requested 
me  to  deliver  a  discourse,  in  commemoration  of  the  life 
and  services  of  one  very  dear  to  us  all,  but,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  to  say  it,  specially  dear  to  me.  He  was  the 
first  officer  of  this  institution  with  whom  I  had  the  honor 
to  become  intimately  acquainted.  Our  friendship  has 
continued,  without  interruption  until  the  day  of  his 
death.  During  the  whole  period,  within  which  we  were 
associated  as  officers  of  instruction,  we  were  in  the  habit 
of  meeting  daily,  and  many  times  in  the  day.  The  va- 
rious plans,  which,  since  my  knowledge  of  this  institu- 
tion, have  been  laid,  for  the  improvement  either  of  its 
course  of  education  or  manner  of  discipline,  have  all  re- 
ceived the  benefit  of  his  wise  and  thoughtful  consider- 
ation. The  principles  on  which  they  depended  were 
developed  by  mature  reflection,  and  the  measures  which 
resulted  from  them  were  carried  into  effect  by  our  mu- 
tual labor.  And  when,  in  consequence  of  ill  health  he 
retired  from  the  duties  of  that  chair  which  he  had  filled 
with  equal  honor  to  himself  and  advantage  to  the  Uni- 
versity, we  all  considered  his  separation  from  us  to  be 
rather  in  form  than  in  fact.  We  unanimously  invited 
him  to  be  present  at  all  the  meetings  of  the  faculty,  as- 
sured that  his  interest  remained  unabated  in  the  pros- 
perity of  the  institution,  on  whose  reputation   his  labors 


MISCELLANEOUS.  357 

had  conferred  so  much  additional  lustre.  We  felt  that 
his  talents,  and  labor  and  fame,  were  as  much  as  ever 
the  property  of  the  university.  For  myself  I  may  truly 
say,  that,  for  nearly  twenty  years,  I  have  taken  but  few 
important  steps  the  reasons  for  which  I  have  not  dis- 
cussed in  the  freest  manner  with  him,  and  in  which, 
also,  I  have  not  been  in  a  great  degree  either  guided  by 
his  counsel  or  encouraged  by  his  approbation.  There  is 
scarcely  a  topic  in  religion  or  morals,  in  literature  or 
social  law,  on  which  either  of  us  has  reflected,  that  we 
have  not  discussed  together.  Neither  of  us  was  fond  of 
disputation,  but  both  of  us  loved  exceedingly  the  honest 
and  unstudied  interchange  of  opinions.  It  so  happened, 
that  our  views  upon  the  most  of  the  subjects  were,  in  an 
unusual  degree,  identical.  The  very  last  conversation 
in  which  we  were  engaged  related  to  those  great  truths, 
revealed  to  us  by  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  belief  and  love  of 
which,  all  liis  spiritual  disciples  are  one. 

In  a  moment,  and  all  this  interchange  of  thought, 
and  all  this  concert  of  action,  have  ceased,  and,  so  far 
as  this  world  is  concerned,  have  ceased  for  ever ;  and 
while  the  living  image  of  our  associate  and  friend  seems 
yet  to  walk  among  us,  in  all  its  freshness,  I  am  requested 
to  commemorate  the  services  of  the  dead.  You  will  all,  I 
I  verv  well  know,  sympathize  in  the  emotions  with 
which  I  undertake  this  solemn  service.  It  is  almost  as 
if  he  of  whom  I  speak  were  in  the  midst  of  us,  to  be  the 
hearer  of  his  own  eulogy.  We  have  been  so  long  ac- 
customed to  his  presence  on  every  collegiate  occasion  ; 
so  few  days  have  elapsed  since  he  occupied  his  wonted 
seat  in  this  sanctuary;  that  wc  are  unable  to  realize  the 
melancholy  truth,  that  we  shall  see  his  face  no  more. 
And  besides  this,  the  deep  feeling,  which  pervades  every 
bosom,  lends  us  instinctively  to  distrusl  our  own  judg- 
ments,    Ou  th^  ofto  Uawdj  wo  foar  leet-  tho  full  utterauoo 


358  MEMORIAL     TlilBUTES. 

of  our  sentiments  should  seem  like  panegyric  ;  and  on 
the  other,  we  are  troubled  lest  eulogy,  too  much  chas- 
tened, should  do  injustice  to  the  memory  of  the  dead. 
And  yet  more  is  this  embarrassment  increased  by  the  re- 
collection, that  the  occasion  necessarily  awakens,  of 
those  inimitable  delineations  of  character,  which  so  often 
flowed  from  the  pen  of  him  whose  sudden  departure  we 
are  now  assembled  to  deplore. 

Under  such  circumstances,  I  know  full  well  that  I 
must  fail  to  present  the  portraiture  of  the  late  Professor 
Goddard,  as  he  now  reveals  himself  to  your  memory,  and 
stands  embodied  before  you  in  your  conceptions.  I  know, 
however,  that  I  am  surrounded  by  his  friends,  who  will 
readily  complete  the  sketch,  no  matter  how  imperfectly 
executed,  which  I  may  offer  for  their  contemplation.  I 
know,  moreover,  that  you  will  all  appreciate  the  diffi- 
culty of  my  task,  and  pardon  the  indistinctness  with 
which  my  thoughts  reflect  the  beauty  and  the  symmetry 
which  you  have  so  frequently  admired  in  the  lionored 
and  beloved  original. 

While  the  principles  of  social  and  constitutional  law 
were  always  among  the  most  interesting  subjects  of 
study  to  Mr.  Goddard,  the  practice  of  the  legal  profes- 
sion could  never  have  been  congenial  to  his  tastes.  Per- 
manently enfeebled  by  sickness,  he  was  unfitted  for  the 
labors  of  the  forum  :  while  his  soul  was  too  sensibly  alive 
to  the  beautiful,  to  become  wedded  to  an  intellectual 
pursuit  of  which  the  pervading  element  is  logic.  He, 
therefore,  relinquished  the  practice  of  the  law,  and 
chose  the  profession  of  an  editor,  .  .  .  and,  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  was  Professor  of  Pulpit  Eloquence  in 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Newton,  Mass. 

He  had  formed  very  just  conceptions  of  the  moral 
and  social  obligations  devolving  upon  the  conductor  of  a 
public  press,    Xlo  believed  it  to  l)e  the  duty  of  un  editor 


MISCELLANEOUS,  359 

not  merely  to  abstain  from  outraging  the  moral  senti- 
ment of  a  community  ;  but  still  more,  by  holding  forth 
examplesof  pro-eminent  virtue,  and  inculcating  the  prin- 
ciples of  everlasting  truth,  to  elevate  the  standard  of  pub- 
lic manners,  and  teach  the"  wayward  passions  of  men 
obedience  to  conscience  and  reverence  for  law.  He  be- 
lieved, that  by  constantly  presenting,  to  the  eye  of  the 
public,  images  of  beauty,  the  press  might  exert  a  pow- 
erful influence  in  foruiing  and  purif3dng  the  national 
taste.  He  thought  it  incumbent  upon  him,  on  all  suita- 
ble occasions  to  rouse  the  spirit  of  the  state,  to  combine 
together  good  men  of  every  name,  in  the  promotion  o^ 
every  enterprise  by  which  the  ignorant  might  be  enlight- 
ened, or  the  vicious  reclaimed  ;  by  which  vice  might  be 
deprived  of  its  means  of  fascination,  or  virtue  endowed 
with  new  elements  of  attractiveness  ;  by  which  the  intel- 
ligent and  tlic  wealthy  might  be  excited  to  beneficence, 
and  the  poor  and  uncultivated  be  encouraged  to  self-de- 
pendence. 

His  editorial  writings  were  remarkable  for  the  high 
spirit  of  individual  Jind  social  morality,  which  breathed  in 
every  line,  no  less  than  for  the  pure,  yet  sparkling  and  epi- 
grammatic English,  in  which  every  sentence  was  clothed. 
Though  he  espoused  with  youthful  ardor  the  political  opin- 
ions he  ever  afterwards  professed,  yet,  as  I  have  been  in- 
formed, he  never  in  a  single  instance  forfeited  the  per- 
sonal respect  of  his  warmest  opponents.  To  every  judi- 
cious effort  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
he  gave  his  willing  and  earnest  support ;  and  some  of 
our  most  valuable  public  charities  o^e  their  origin  to 
the  editorial  labors  of  this  portion  of  his  life. 

His  success  as  an  instructor  excelled  in  unfolding  such 
general  views  as  illustrate  the  principles  of  a  science,  by 
tracing  their  effects  upon  the  condition  and  changes  of 
society,  and  by  exhibiting  their  influence  in  the  forina- 


3G0  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

tion  of  individual  cliaracter.  He  labored  to  enkindle  in 
the  bosoms  of  his  pupils  a  love  of  truth,  of  virtue,  and 
of  goodness. 

He  was  a  diligent  and  profound  thinker  upon  all 
subjects  of  religion,  morals,  general  politics,  and  human 
civilization.  But  even  here,  he  appeared  to  arrive  at  the 
result  in  which  he  rested,  rather  by  a  moral  intuition 
than  by  any  process  of  reasoning.  His  spiritual  discern- 
ment seemed  to  indicate  to  him  what  the  law  should  be, 
and,  upon  investigation,  he  found  his  opinions  confirmed 
by  the  highest  authorities.  Hence,  in  his  reading,  he 
rather  sought  for  the  truths  which  our  great  teachers 
have  discovered,  than  for  the  processes  by  which  their 
discoveries  Jiave  been  effected.  To  theological  contro- 
versy he  paid  but  little  attention ;  but  of  sermons,  or 
other  religious  writings,  which  lay  bare  the  human  heart, 
or  reveal  to  us  the  precepts  of  duty,  or  present  the  scrij)- 
tural  motives  for  well  doing,  he  was  a  diligent  and  ear- 
nest student.  Of  the  various  theories  of  social  order, 
he  knew  but  little,  and  he  cared  even  less.  Let  a  case, 
however,  be  presented,  which  involved  the  essential 
principles  either  of  individual  or  social  right,  and  lie 
would  seize  upon  it  in  an  instant ;  and  it  would  not  be 
long  before  be  had  formed  a  definite  and  earnest  opinion 
in  respect  to  it.  He  might  not  be  able  to  give  a  logical 
reason  for  his  opinion ;  but  the  opinion  would  be,  with 
singular  certainty,  correct,  and  he  would  so  present  it  to 
the  public  as  to  leave  an  impression  which  no  argument 
could  readily  efface. 

During  the  political  agitations  a  few  years  since,  he 
stood  forth  the  unwavering  advocate  of  Justice  and  truth, 
of  liberty  and  law.  His  essa3^s  for  the  daily  press,  during 
this  period  alone,  would  fill  a  moderately  sized  volume. 
Day  after  day,  he  explained  to  his  follow  citizens  the 
principles  ()|  ratioual  Ul}eJ.*ty  ;  he  |i)J4  teH'<^.;  ^i^ll  f-^  VM^.^ 


MIS  CELL  A  NE  0  US,  30 1 

tcrly  hiiiul,  the  distinction  between  liberty  and  licen- 
tiousness ;  and  when  at  last  the  crisis  arrived — with  an 
eloquence  that  fired  the  soul  of  every  true  hearted  man, 
he  urged  us  all  to  unite  in  defense  of  that  heritage  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  which  God  had  bestowed  upon 
our  fathers.  In  this  cause  he  labored  on,  amid  sickness 
and  infirmity,  through  good  report  and  through  evil 
report,  until  the  efforts  of  patriotism  were  crowned  with 
triumphant  success.  All  the  ends  he  aimed  at  were  his 
country's,  his  God's,  and  truth's.  He  desired  nothing, 
either  for  himself  or  his  friends,  which  he  did  not  equally 
desire  for  the  humblest  citizen  amongst  us.  He  labored 
to  sustain  a  government  which  should  secure  to  every 
citizen  the  rights  conferred  upon  him  by  his  Creator, 
and  which  should  guard  those  rights  with  equal  vigi- 
lance, both  against  the  oppressions  of  the  many,  and 
the  tyranny  of  the  few. 

The  manners  of  Professor  Goddard  were  courteous 
and  refined.  His  personal  habits,  without  being  pain- 
fully exact,  were  scrupulously  neat,  and  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  character  of  a  literary  citizen.  His 
conversation,  sometimes  playful,  never  frivolous,  was  al- 
ways instructive,  and  at  times  singularly  forcible, 
captivating  and  eloquent.  His  tastes  were  simple  and 
easily  gratified  ;  and  I  think  that  he  preferred  a  book  in 
his  study,  or  a  conversation  at  the  fireside  with  a  friend, 
to  any  form  of  more  exciting  and  outdoor  enjoyment. 
He  was,  both  from  nature  and  principle,  eminently,  but 
with  discrimination,  charitable.  To  the  judiciously 
benevolent  institutions  of  our  city  he  was  a  liberal  and 
frequently  an  unsolicited  contributor.  Nor  did  his 
charity  exhaust  itself  in  making  others  tlie  almoners  of 
his  bounty.  He  sought  out  the  poor  and  infirm,  the 
disconsolate  and  the  forgotten,  and  specially  those  wlio 
ju  age  were  suffering  fi'om  tUe  mutability  of  fovtuuc  :  uii4 


363  MEMOIUAL      TIUDUTES. 

while  he  relieved  their  wiints  by  pceunijiry  aid,  soothed 
tlieir  sorrows  by  his  sympathy,  and  animated  their  hopes 
by  his  cheerful  encouragement.  One  of  his  last  visits, 
only  a  few  days  before  his  death,  was  made  to  an  aged 
widow,  who  has  since  followed  him  into  eternity,  to 
whom  he  communicated  alms  ;  while,  as  she  herself  told 
me,  he  consoled  her  sinking  spirit  by  the  humble  piety 
of  his  conversation. 

The  religious  opinions  of  Professor  Goddard  were 
those  of  tlie  divines  of  the  English  reformation.  He 
believed  most  fully  in  those  doctrines  which  teach  the 
moral  corruption  of  the  human  heart,  the  necessity  of 
the  influences  of  the  Spirit  to  our  moral  transformation, 
and  that  our  only  hope  of  salvation  rests  up<m  the  atone- 
ment by  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  conscientiously  attached 
to  the  Episcopal  Church ;  but,  making  a  wise  distinction 
between  spiritual  religion  and  the  various  modes 
in  which  it  may  be  manifested,  he  loved  true  piety, 
wherever  he  discovered  it,  "  with  a  pure  heart  fervently." 
He  carried  into  daily  practice  the  sentiment  which  he 
uttered  only  a  few  days  before  his  death.  '^  The  longer 
I  live,"  said  he,  *'  the  more  dearly  do  I  prize  being  a 
Christian  ;  and  the  more  signally  unimportant  seem  to 
me  the  differences  by  which  true  Christians  are  separated 
from  each  other." 

The  death  of  such  a  man,  at  any  time,  is  always  felt 
to  be  an  irreparable  loss.  I,  however,  remember  no  in- 
stance, since  my  residence  in  this  city,  in  which  this 
sentiment  has  been  so  deep  and  universal.  The  sphere 
of  eminent  usefulness,  which  Mr.  Goddard  filled,  was 
peculiar  and  uncommon.  It  rarely  happens  that  af- 
fluence is  granted  to  men  of  so  varied  learning,  so  culti- 
vated taste,  and  so  elevated  moral  princij)le.  Still  more 
rarelvare  these  advantages  combined  with  the  leisure  and 
the  will  to  use   them    with  disinterested  goal  fov  the 


MISGELLANEO  U8  303 

benefit  of  the  community.  But  it  was  while  thus  em- 
ploying his  varied  talents,  that  Mr.  Goddard  was  so  sud- 
denly removed  from  the  midst  of  us.  At  no  time  of  his 
life  had  his  influence  been  so  widely  acknowledged  and 
so  beneficially  felt,  as  at  the  very  moment  when  it  all 
ceased  forever.  When  we  think  of  the  intellectual  and 
moral  light  which  he  diffused,  of  the  trusts  which  he 
held,  of  the  courses  of  thought  and  action  which  he 
directed,  we  seem  to  look  in  vain,  1  do  not  say  for  the 
7na7i,  but  for  the  vien,  Ijy  whom  his  place  is  to  be  sup- 
plied. Our  only  hope  is  in  God.  ''Help,  Lord,  for  the 
godly  man  ceaseth  ;  for  the  faithful  fail  from  among  the 
children  of  men." 

But  what,  lut  us  inquire,  are  the  sentiments  which  it 
is  becoming  in  us  to  cherish  on  the  occasion  of  so  mourn- 
ful a  bereavement  ?  In  the  first  place,  let  us  bow  in 
submission  before  the  face  of  our  Father  in  heaven,  who, 
in  inscrutable  wisdom,  and  yet  parental  goodness,  has 
inflicted  upon  us  this  sore  calamity.  He  endowed  our 
departed  associate  and  friend  with  the  intellectual 
powers  and  the  spiritual  graces  which  made  him,  for 
many  years,  a  burning  and  a  shining  light.  At  the  time 
which  He  had  chosen,  and  in  the  manner  that  He  him- 
self had  selected,  He  has  removed  him  from  this  world 
of  trial,  and  raised  him  to  his  sanctuary  of  rest.  "  The 
Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away ;  blessed  be 
the  name  of  the  Lord." 

A  high-minded  and  public  spirited  citizen,  who  has, 
for  many  ycar.'^,  devoted  a  large  portion  of  his  eminent 
ability  to  the  promotion  of  every  design  by  which  we  and 
our  children  could  be  rendered  wiser  and  better,  has 
ceased  from  his  labors.  A  more  solemn  and  urgent  re- 
sponsibility is  devolved  upon  every  one  of  us  who  remains. 
Let  us  cheerfully  assume  those  public  burdens  which 
our  associate  and   friend  laid  down  only  with  his  life. 


364  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

Let  his  example  teacli  us  tliiit  tlie  cause  of  truth  and 
justice,  the  cause  of  liberty  and  laA7,  of  charity  and  piety, 
are  well  worth  living  for.  Highly  as  we  esteem  the  vari- 
ous gifts  of  our  lamented  friend,  it  is  for  the  use  of 
which  he  made  of  them,  that  now  we  chiefly  venerate 
him.  Though  we  may  not  be  able  to  supply  the  loss 
which  the  community  has  sustained  in  tliis  calamity,  yet 
if  each  one  of  us  labors  with  an  honest  and  earnest 
spirit,  our  humble  offering  will  be  acceptable  to  the 
Master. 

And  lastly,  how  solemn  an  admonition  does  this 
event  bring  home  to  the  bosom  of  each  one  of  us.  We 
are  most  impressively  reminded,  that  no  pre-eminence  of 
usefulness,  no  ties  of  affection,  no  gifts  of  nature  or  ad- 
vantages of  fortune,  can  offer  to  us  the  least  assurance  of 
length  of  days.  The  sun  of  Mr.  Goddard  went  down 
while  it  was  yet  high  moon.  Nay  more  :  how  solemnly 
are  we  taught,  that  every  one  of  us  is  walking  upon  the 
borders  of  eternity,  and  that  the  very  next  footstep  may 
be  planted  within  the  limits  of  the  world  unseen.  We 
commence  a  week  in  health,  but  where  shall  we  be  at  the 
end  of  it  ?  We  rise  in  the  morning,  buoyant  with  hope, 
but  God  only  knows  who  of  us  shall  look  upon  the  shad- 
ows of  the  evening.  We  arrange  our  plans  for  the  hour, 
but  ere  they  are  half  completed,  we  are  numbered  with 
the  dead.  We  commence  a  conversation,  but  while  the 
words  yet  linger  on  our  lips,  we  are  in  eternity.  Can 
there  be  one  among  us  who  mistakes  the  lesson  which 
these  conditions  of  our  being  are  intended  to  inculcate  ? 
They  surely  teach  us  that  we  can  only  live  wisely  as  we  live 
in  habitual  preparation  for  death.  Let  us  then  give  all 
diligence  to  make  our  calling  and  election  sure,  for  so  an 
entrance  shall  be  abundantly  ministered  to  us,  into  the 
everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Siwiour  Jesus 
Qhrist, 


Mis  OELLAJS'E  OUS.  ^05 


A   PHYSICIAN. 

MEMORIAL  SERMON  OF  H.  H.  GREGORY,  M.  D. 

REV.  WESLEY  R.  DAVIS, 

PASTOR    OF  ST  JAMES'  M.  E.  CHURCH,  NEW    YORK. 

Upon  the  top  of  the  pillars  was  lily  loork. — 1  KmGS  vii  :  22. 

Him  that  overcometh  will  I  make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  God. — ^ReV. 

iii  :  12. 
''piIERE  is  a  manifest  connection  between  these  pas- 
^  sages.  The  first  reveals  to  us  the  polished  columns 
of  Jerusalem's  temple  ;  the  last  is  significant  of  another 
temple  in  a  New  Jerusalem  of  which  the  old  was  the 
magnificent  type. 

In  this  divinely  planned  structure  I  know  of  nothing, 
outside  the  Holy  of  Holies,  more  impressive  than  the 
pillars  built  by  Hiram.  These  were  of  the  finest  brass, 
of  great  height,  splendid  in  symmetry  and  crowned  with 
lilies. 

It  is  a  law  of  art  that  the  most  perfect  and  enduring 
effects  are  produced  by  a  combination  of  things  unlike  each 
other.  A  painter  throws  into  his  picture  the  darkest 
shadows  that  he  may  intensify  his  clearest  liglits.  A 
sculptor  carves  for  the  top  of  his  columns,  capitals  of 
delicate  design.  An  architect  relieves  the  heavy  masonry 
of  his  walls  with  items  of  exquisite  device  and  forms  of 
sculptured  beauty.  God  himself  is  our  original  teacher  ; 
for  whilst  he  ''setteth  fast  the  mountains,  being  girded 
with  power,"  he  hath  woven  around  their  summits  ten- 
der vines,  and  rooted  in  their  crevices  sweet-scented 
flowers,  that  warmly  clasp  and  color  the  cold  grey  cliffs. 

Observe  that  the  strength  was  first  and  the  beauty  of 
lilies  afterward.  We  have  here  the  uplifting  of  those 
two  qualities  which  are  worshipped  by  the  soul  of  man 


B60  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

the  world  over.  Power  and  beauty  alike  win  his  homage, 
but  not  unfrequently  he  yields  himself  to  that  which  is 
but  the  sham  of  strength  and  renders  service  to  that 
which  has  but  the  semblance  of  beauty ;  to  power  un- 
gifted  with  love  and  to  beauty  unadorned  by  holiness. 
It  is  the  lie  of  the  world  often  uttered  and  often  believed, 
that  the  righteous  must  needs  be  the  weak,  and  the  pure 
the  uncomely.  God  declares  the  right  to  be  the  only 
strong,  and  the  good  the  only  beautiful.  The  power 
that  enters  human  life  to  rule  it  within  and  without, 
must  be  a  pov/er  of  conquest,  having  the  inherent  quali- 
ties, of  stability.  Man  is  born  in  battle.  His  cradle  is 
rocked  by  his  own  strugglings.  His  history  is  that  of  a 
shifting  factor  in  a  shifting  world.  He  can  neither  com- 
mand himself  nor  control  his  surroundings.  Antagon- 
isms swarm  on  his  path.  Struggling  alone- he  can  have 
but  one  experience :  the  shame  that  comes  of  perpetual 
impotency  and  the  confusion  that  arises  from  continued 
defeat.  Sooner  or  later  he  learns  this  truth,  that  '^all 
power  is  of  God,'^  and  that  the  strength  that  conquers 
for  the  spiritual,  that  takes  hold  of  eternal  things  and 
abides,  that  elevates  life  into  firmness  of  cliaracter  and 
adorns  it  with  real  beauty,  is  possible  only  through  the 
'patient,  helpful,  regenerative  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ. 

A  man  having  this  Christ  for  his  Saviour  and  friend, 
and  developing  thereby  a  character  that  was  like  a 
column,  has  just  been  called  out  of  the  stir  and  bustle 
of  our  midst.  The  beginnings  of  such  a  life  are  of  spe- 
cial interest. 

1  cannot  speak  of  the  sudden  darkness  and  inner  pain 
that  smote  my  heart  on  the  morning  w^lien  a  messenger 
entered  my  room  with  the  tidings,  briefly  told  '^  Dr. 
Gregory  is  dead.^^  I  felt  as  though  one  of  the  central 
foundations  of  the  earth  had  been  removed.  I  kneio 
that   a  pillar  in  our  temple  had   fallen  ;   that  a  life  on 


MISGELIANEOXTS.  SG? 

which  hundreds  of  lives  leaned  was  shattered.  Looking 
beyond  the  shadows  of  the  finite  I  behold  a  shining, 
stately  shaft  set  up  on  high,  and  read  the  destiny  he  has 
gone  forward  to  realize; — ''  Him  that  overcometh  will  I 
make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  God  and  he  shall  go 
no  more  out/^ 

What  was  the  ground-work  of  this  life  ?  At  such  a 
time  as  this,  these  questions  naturally  determine  the 
drift  of  our  thoughts. 

The  classification  of  men  is  a  very  difficult  task,  and 
yet  it  is  one  we  almost  unconsciously  jierform.  It  is  not 
simply  the  result  of  our  judgment  after  a  careful  analysis 
of  character.  It  largely  belongs  to  our  intuitions. 
What  a  man  is,  is  the  final  impression  he  makes  on  the 
world  rather  than  what  he  seems  to  be.  His  seeming 
may  be  adroitly  managed,  but  the  instinctive  and  neces- 
sary influences  of  his  real  self,  will  sooner  or  later  tear 
off  the  mask.  Genuine  manhood  is  as  certain  of  recog- 
nition as  hypocrisy  is  of  detection  and  scorn.  .   .  . 

Making  search  for  the  foundations  of  this  character, 
I  ask  you  to  mark  the  Faith  which  shaped  and  sustained 
his  history. 

He  was  a  man  of  convictions,  a  man  compacted  of 
positives  ;  invariably  clear  in  opinion  and  firm  in  atti- 
tude. When  he  came  to  apprehend  the  realities  of  life, 
illuminated  by  the  realities  of  divine  truth,  it  was  in  no 
negative  mood,  but  with  a  vivid  experience  and  seizure 
of  soul  that  made  them  his  own.     .     .     . 

I  ask  you  to  consider  also  his  Fidelity.  He  was  open 
to  conviction,  if  wrong  could  be  convinced  and  swayed 
to  the  right  path,  for  the  right  with  him  was  ever  the 
supreme ;  bui  once  settled  in  purpose  he  could  not  be 
moved.  He  was  not  a  rover  or  a  shifter,  playing  fast 
and  loose  with  duty,  but  an  earnest  man  who  having 
found  truth  j^lanted  himself  on  it  with  a  firmness  invin- 


Us  MEMORIAL     TRiBtfTm. 

cible.     Faithful  to  his  professions,  he  was  a  column  mor- 
ticed in  rock,  find  him  where  you  might. 

Because  he  thus  stood  immovable  on  things  accepted, 
we  have  the  rounded  effect  of  his  entire  life  ;  which  was 
that  of  strength. 

He  was  strong  because  sincere.  He  had  all  the  ten- 
derness of  real  streugth  and  all  the  strength  of  real 
tenderness.  Nevertheless  he  was  poorly  endowed  with 
patience  for  many  things.  He  would  burn  and  flare 
against  pretence  and  hypocrisy  with  an  energy  that  was 
startling.  He  could  no  more  bear  a  sham  than  be  a  sham 
himself.  The  meannesses  that  eat  integrity  out  of  char- 
acter were  specially  smitten  by  his  sarcasm  or  shriveled 
in  his  scorn. 

He  could  not  dissemble.  He  had  no  hiding  place 
even  for  his  faults.  These  were  reported  on  the  very 
surface  of  his  action,  and  were  the  excesses  of  virtues 
rather  than  their  perversion. 

An  experience  of  safety  belouged  to  every  one  that 
knew  him,  for  he  was  without  guile.  To  the  worth  of 
sincerity  he  added  the  Christ-like  sjnrit  of  self  sacrifice. 
Two  brief  passages,  often  on  his  lips,  revealed  his  phil- 
osophy of  life — "No  man  liveth  unto  himself" — "Ye 
are  not  your  own."  How  clearly  were  these  words  writ- 
ten on  the  pages  of  his  histor}^  Influence  consecrated 
to  Christ  was  the  end  of  his  desire  and  of  his  deed. 

Self  forgetful,  he  was  above  envy  ;  rejoicing  in  the 
success  of  others  and  hopeful  for  the  unpromising.  His 
record  with  the  younger  physicians  of  Harlem  cannot  be 
written.  The  good  cheer,  the  genial  help,  the  steadfast 
fellowship,  the  common  sense  counsel  and  liberal  hos- 
pitality, which  they  have  received  from  the  "  old  man," 
as  they  fondly  called  him,  can  never  be  repeated.  May 
the   dignity   and   charm   of  his   memory  bind  them  to 


MISCELLAnEOTTS.  369 

that  faith,  whicli  bore  fruit  in  the  warmth  and  beauty 
of  his  example. 

Again,  he  firmly  enthroned  himself  through  sym- 
pathy with  human  life  in  its  every  stage  and  experience. 
The  sorrows  and  struggles  of  others  became  his  own. 
He  was  the  sheltering  refuge  and  the  trusted  friend  be- 
cause of  his  instant  appreciation  of  your  trouble.  His 
consolations  were  swift  to  offer  all  his  resources.  His 
helpfulness  verified  these  words — 

*'  Thy  soul  must  overflow,  if  thou 
Another  soul  would  reach ; 
It  needs  the  overflow  of  heart, 
To  give  the  lips  full  speech." 

This  trait  of  character  did  not  blur  moral  distinc- 
tions. He  could  see  wrong  and  condemn  it,  but  he  was 
like  his  Lord  in  this  also,  that  he  pitied  and  yearned  to 
restore  the  wrong  doer.  The  secret  of  failure  in  the 
ministry  of  many  is  littleness  of  heart ;  not  want  of  in- 
tellectual or  expressional  gifts,  but  m eagerness  of  sjmi- 
pathy.  Their  views  of  life  are  narrow.  They  know  men 
after  one  type.  They  surround  themselves  with  frigid 
proprieties  that  repel  the  affectionate  impulses  and  deep 
questionings  of  souls.  He  was  not  of  that  class.  He 
believed  the  Gospel  to  be  God's  spell  for  man^  charmful 
with  power  and  vigorous  with  hojoe.  Able  to  win  and 
able  to  save  because  straight  and  fresh  from  the  bosom 
of  an  everlasting  Love.  Under  tiie  sway  of  this  faith  he 
would  not  despise  any  soul  that  might  fall  into  the  dis- 
grace that  brought  suffering.  Eejected  by  others  there 
was  forgiveness  and  help  in  him. 

His  sympathy  was  the  emphasis  of  that  wealth  of 
hu7na7iity,  which  he  threw  into  all  his  undertakings. 
This  became  the  source  of  an  enthusiasm  that  was  mag- 
netic and  led  captive  the  doubting  and  the  irresolute. 
15* 


S70  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

Wherever  his  name  was  mentioDed  you  seemed  to  hear 
the  beat  of  a  big  heart.  Time  and  again  in  the  history 
of  this  church,  when  the  outlook  was  dark  and  the  future 
uncertain,  he  would  become  the  prophet  of  the  morning 
and  of  the  clear  path  to  be  revealed  in  its  light.  San- 
guine in  temperament  and  faithful  in  duty,  he  was  al- 
ways an  inspiration.  As  one  upon  a  steamer's  deck  feels 
the  throb  of  the  engine  and  knows  that  he  is  near  a  force 
that  helps  him  over  the  waves,  so  the  friends  of  this  man 
were  carried  by  a  power  that  often  propelled  against  ad- 
verse currents  and  across  the  crests  of  maddening  diffi- 
culties. 

What  a  nature  !  thus  to  continuously  pour  itself  forth  ; 
only  asking  that  you  take  freely,  abundantly  of  its  full- 
ness ;  only  content  when  the  best  had  been  given.  If  I 
could  chisel  upon  his  tomb  the  symbol  of  his  free  and 
generous  spirit  I  would' carve  a  '^flaming  heart  upon  a 
broad  and  open  liand."' 

The  pillars  of  Hiram  were  strong  because  firmly  based 
and  magnificently  proportioned,  but  '^  on  the  top  of  the 
pillars  was  lily  work."  In  the  ordinary  goings  of  our 
friend's  life  you  might  not  have  guessed  that  he  carried 
a  crown  of  fiowers.  He  had  more  than  these — the  sweet 
charities  of  life  and  the  beauty  which  best  adorns 
strength. 

Perhaps  the  most  manifest,  was  his  cheerfulness. 
This  shone  through  his  countenance,  and  rang  in  his 
voice  and  was  the  elasticity  of  every  movement.  His 
company  was  as  exhilarating  as  a  sea-breeze.  Said  one 
of  his  patients  to  me,  '^  To  have  him  come  into  a  sick 
room  was  to  be  better  right  away."  His  glad  vitality 
gave  anew  spring  to  your  own  powers  of  enjoyment.  His 
laugh  was  like  the  gush  of  a  full  fountain,  joyously 
breaking  into  freedom,  satisfying  the  thirsty  and  quick- 
ening dry  life-roots. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  B7l 

His  nature,  like  a  revolving  mirror,  reflected  every- 
thing around  it ;  the  grass  by  the  wayside — the  clouds  of 
the  sky — the  sun-set  and  the  stars — the  little  child  with 
its  laughter  and  the  old  man  in  his  weariness — the  sick 
under  the  fire  of  fever  and  the  well  under  the  glow  of 
health — the  bereaved  by  the  ruins  of  love-altars,  and  the 
unsmitten  rejoicing  without  fear  ;  all  were  reported  to 
this  genuinely  tender  and  greatly  true  soul. 

Again,  he  had  an  exquisite  appreciation  of  everything 
that  was  natural,  that  had  the  worth  of  being  what  God 
intended  it  to  be.  This  directed  his  estimates  of  men 
and  things.  This  decided  his  tastes  ;  made  him  quickly 
responsive.  This  formed  the  standard  of  his  criticism 
whether  in  poetry,  or  art,  or  history,  or  character.  If 
he  should  take  up  a  book  and  read  a  sentiment  of  special 
energy  or  peculiar  pathos,  it  would  duplicate  itself  in 
his  ovv^n  spirit,  so  swiftly,  that  his  face  would  flush  or  his 
eyes  fill  with  tears. 

This  was  not  a  weakness  but  a  source  of  invigoration 
to  his  manhood.  It  is  not  the  weakness  of  an  oak  to 
carry  the  light  foliage  that  elaborates  strong  roots,  stout 
trunks  and  giant  arms.  The  work  of  the  leaf  is  as  im- 
portant to  it  as  the  qualities  of  air  and  dew,  the  bath  of 
sun-floods  and  the  wrestling  of  tempests. 

Every  class  in  this  community  has  been  stricken  by 
his  death.  The  laborer,  who  fights  want  from  his  door- 
sill  to-day,  but  knows  not  from  whence  the  bread  for  to- 
morrow will  come,  has  lost  a  kind  helper  and  healer. 

The  weak  woman,  wasting  under  disease,  is  conscious 
this  night  that  a  form  has  passed  from  her  bedside  that 
cannot  possibly  return,  and  no  other  will  take  his  place  ; 
whose  arm  ^Mvas  the  strongest  on  the  longest  day,"  and 
whose  mind  was  filled  with  soothing  thoughts,  as  his 
spirit  with  sympathies. 

The     stanch,    brave     soul,     standing    full-breasted 


8t2  MEMORIAL      TRinuTM. 

against  the  storm-tides  of  the  world,  shakes  with  sobs, 
because  the  unfailing  feet  of  a  braver  brother-soul,  may 
walk  with  him  never  again  through  dark  waters  and 
under  tempestuous  skies. 

I  behold  but  one  sorrow,  which  is  everywhere  break- 
ing forth  in  tears,  because  the  strong  man  sleeps  in  his 
grave. 

He  fell  suddenly.  There  was  no  dying  scene  of  which 
I  may  speak  to  you.  Just  before  the  Angel  of  the  Dawn 
opened  the  gates  of  morning  on  May  1st,  the  Angel  of 
the  Lord  overstooped  his  pillow  and  whispered  the  sum- 
mons of  departure.  Of  that  going  he  had  apprehen- 
sions. He  said  to  a  friend  of  mine,  the  week  before  he 
was  cut  down,  ''I  shall  be  snuffed  out  some  day,"  and 
to  another,  ^'  I  expect  to  die  with  the  harness  on." 

When  his  brethren  of  the  profession  searched  for  the 
cause  of  his  sudden  death,  they  discovered  that  the  right 
auricle  of  the  heart  had  been  worn  thin  by  the  ]3ressure 
of  the  blood,  so  thin,  that  it  was  but  a  piece  of  fine 
tissue.  This  was  ruptured.  The  life  currents  had 
broken  their  channel  and  in  a  moment  he  was  gone. 
This  is  significant  to  me  in  a  peculiar  sense.  The  Sun- 
day morning  before  he  died,  he  sat  in  his  pew,  listening 
to  the  sermon,  with  that  kindly  and  helpful  attention 
which  made  him  the  best  of  hearers.  I  closed  with  a 
quotation  from  an  humble  English  poet,  concerning  the 
veil  that  hangs  between  us  and  the  eternal  home.  He 
said  to  a  friend  afterward,  ^'I  felt  that  it  was  only  a 
veil ;  indeed,  I  almost  got  a  glimpse  of  heaven."  For  him 
sitting  there  the  partition  was  very  thin.  Before  a 
second  sunrise  came,  a  life-throb  rifted  the  veil  and  he 
passed  through  to  the  perfect  vision.  His  warfare  is 
ended.  The  armor  has  been  unclasped  and  the  helmet 
exchanged  for  the  crown.  He  is  now  and  ever  the  right- 
ful heir  of  all  that  heaven  holds. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  373 

But  he  does  not  simply  inherit ;  he  has  also  some- 
thing to  give,  out  of  the  riches  of  his  immortal  life. 
When  Benjamin  Parsons,  of  England,  died,  a  friend 
carried  the  news  to  John  Pulsford,  wlio  lowered  his  head 
for  a  moment  in  deep  sorrow,  then  suddenly  answered 
with  a  smile,  "  He  is  gone  ;  yes,  but  he  has  gone  to 
make  the  heavens  stronger/'  Likewise  our  kinsman  and 
brother,  having  triumphed  in  Christ,  is  henceforth  a 
pillar  in  the  higher  temple  of  God.  The  great  frame  of 
life  is  made  firmer  because  of  his  entrance.  The 
heavens  are  stronger /or  us.  A  fresh  magnetism  streams 
past  the  stars  and  takes  captive  our  thoughts  and 
desires.  A  voice  from  the  ^^  house  not  made  with  hands  '' 
calls  us  to  be  true  to  the  laying  up  of  treasures  incor- 
ruptible, and  to  the  elements  of  character  that  make  for 
it  an  enduring  good.  What  can  take  precedence,  or  be 
of  greater  import  to  you  or  to  me,  above  the  powers 
that  matured  our  translated  friend  for  his  reward  ? 
Humboldt  has  said,  *'  The  finest  fruit  earth  holds  up  to 
its  Maker  is  a  finished  man.''  Such  fruit  Christ  seeks 
and  hungers  for  in  your  lives,  and  shall  He  find  at  last 
nothing  but  leaves  ? 

May  His  consolation  to  this  stricken  household  be 
greater  than  their  anguish;  may  tliis  darkness  bring  to 
them  the  closer  pressure  of  His  bosom  ;  may  they  be  shelt- 
ered there,  through  all  years,  until  one  after  another  shall 
be  lifted  higher,  to  find  broader  light,  sweeter  peace,  and 
the  abiding  fellowship  of  him,  who  has  been  taken  from 
their  arms. 


Our  Trials. — Trials  are  medicines  which  our  gracious  and 
wise  physician  prescribes  because  we  need  them,  and  he  pro- 
portions the  frequency  and  the  weight  of  them  to  what  the  case 
requires.  Let  us  trust  in  his  skill,  and  thank  him  for  his  pre- 
scriptions.—t7(;A/i  Newton, 


374  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 


A  COLLEGE  PRESIDENT. 

THE    GOOD   AND   FAITHFUL    STEWARD. 

ON  THE  DEATH   OP    WILBUR    FISK,  D.D.,    PRESIDENT    OF   THE   WESLEYAN   UNI- 
VERSITY. 

NATHAN  BANGS,  D.D. 

"  WJw  then  is  thai  faithful  and  wise  steward,  whom  his  Lord  sJiall 
make  rule  over  his  household,  to  give  them  their  portion  of  meat 
in  due  season?" — Luke  xii:  43. 

T^T^E  mourn  to-night,  my  brethren,  the  loss  of  no  or- 
dinary  man  !  Dr.  Fisk,  whose  thrilling  accents 
you  heard  for  the  last  time  in  this  church,  when  he  so 
feelingly  and  eloquently  plead  the  cause  of  missions,  is 
no  more  !  Did  I  say,  no  more  ?  I  correct  myself.  He 
is  no  more  among  us. 

Yet  he  lives !  He  lives  in  the  recollection  of  thou- 
sands, to  whom  he  was  endeared  by  the  strongest  ties  of 
affection,  and  who  will  long  venerate  his  memory  as  an 
able  minister  of  Jesus  Clirist.  He  lives  and  will  long 
live  and  speak  in  those  volumes  which  he  has  left  as  re- 
cords of  his  worth,  and  as  an  evidence  of  his  deep  devo- 
tion to  the  cause  of  God — of  his  ability  to  expound  and 
defend  the  truth,  while  he  stretched  his  thoughts  over 
a  wide  field  in  search  of  theological,  moral,  and  philo- 
sophical science. 

Bat  iie  lives  in  a  still  higher  sense.  No  longer 
shrouded  by  that  mortal  body,  nor  impeded  in  its 
expansive  powers  by  its  sluggish  nature,  nor  de- 
pendent upon  its  functions  either  for  the  reception 
of  its  ideas  or  for  the  exercise  of  its  energies,  that  undy- 
ing soul,  purified  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  is  now  en- 
joying the  fruits  of  its  labors  and  sufferings  in  the  full 
fruition  of  that  life  which  shall  never  end. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  375 

But,  though  ill  this  sense  he  lives,  and  will  for  ever 
live,  he  is  in  another  sense  dead  to  us.  And  without 
anticipating  evils  which  we  may  never  live  to  realize, 
permit  me  to  call  your  attention, 

L  To  a  brief  exposition  of  the  text. 

II.  To  show  by  a  short  account  of  tlie  life  and  character 
of  the  Eev.  Dii.  FiSK,  that  he  comes  under  the  denomi- 
nation of  a  "  faithful  and  wise  steward,  whom  his  Lord 
appointed  ruler  over  his  household." 

The  text  directs  our  attention  to  the  following  par- 
ticulars : 

1.  The  liouselioJd.  By  this  expression,  I  shall  under- 
stand the  Church  of  the  living  God.  This  is  composed 
of  various  members,  of  different  ages,  sexes,  capacities, 
dispositions,  and  pursuits  in  life.  These  require /ooc?; 
that  is,  instruction,  admonition,  reproof  or  encourage- 
ment, suited  to  their  respective  ages,  capacitie.'?,  disposi- 
tions, and  their  several  callings.  It  is  the  business  of  a 
faithful  and  wise  steward  to  seek  out  these  several  mem- 
bers of  God's  household,  to  ascertain  their  wants,  and  to 
furnish  them  with  the  needful  '^'food.^^ 

2.  Tlie  faithful  and  wise  steward,  I  shall  under- 
stand as  designating  that  minister  or  pastor  whom  God 
hath  appointed  over  his  household.  That  man  may  be 
denominated  ivise  who  perfectly  understands  the  peculiar 
duties  of  his  profession. 

A  wise  minister  of  the  gospel  is  one  who  is 
*^ thoroughly  furnished  unto  every  good  work" — fully 
understands  the  law  and  the  gospel — is  able  to  explain 
and  defend  them,  and  suitably  to  apply  them  to  the  va- 
riety of  cases  which  may  come  within  his  observation. 

A  wise  steward,  therefore,  is  one  who  has  so  applied 
himself  to  the  study  of  divine  truth  that  he  has  a  com- 
prehensive knowledge  of  the  economy  of  salvation,  of 


376  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

the  law  and  tlie  gospel^  and  of  all  those  helps  afforded 
by  the  providence  and  grace  of  God  for  the  furtherance 
of  his  cause  among  the  inhabitants  of  our  world. 

3.  A /(^^Y/i/wZ  steward  is  that  minister  of  Jesus  Christ 
wlio  applies  his  wisdom  to  experimental  and  practical 
purposes.  Fidelity  in  the  imjDrovement  of  time,  in  the 
right  application  of  attainments,  whether  intellectual  or 
spiritual,  is  the  **'  one  thing  needful "  to  entitle  a  minister 
of  Jesus  Christ  to  become  '^  a  ruler  over  his  household." 

The  faithful  steward  watches  with  diligence  over  the 
several  members  of  this  household,  adapts  his  insLrnc- 
tions  to  their  different  ages,  circumstances,  variety  of 
dispositions,  and  peculiarity  of  callings  in  life.  He 
dilligently  employs  all  his  time  and  talent  in  domg  good. 
His  knowledge  he  uses  for  practical  ends.  He  makes 
his  theory  have  a  practical  bearing  upon  himself  and 
others.  He  watches  over  those  intrusted  to  his  care  with 
the  tender  solicitude  of  a  father,  giving  them  all  a  '^  por- 
tion of  meat  in  due  season.'' 

4.  Such  a  man  is  rewarded  by  being  made  a  rw/er  over 
the  household  of  God.  Being  eminently  fitted  by  both 
tvisdom  ?iud  fidelity ,  for  this  high  and  responsible  station, 
God  puts  him  in  his  place,  and  makes  him  a  ruler  over 
that  portion  of  his  family  where  his  talents  may  be  most 
usefully  employed  for  the  improvement  and  salvation  of 
immortal  souls. 

By  a  ruler,  I  understand  one  that  takes  an  oversight 
of  some  particular  department  of  the  church,  and  is  there- 
fore held  responsible  for  whatever  may  be  transacted  by 
those  placed  under  his  care.  Here  his  wisdom  and  fidel- 
ity are  eminently  brought  into  practical  operation. 

II.  Whether  or  not  Dr.  Fisk  was  thus  qualified  for  a 
"faithful  and  wise  steward,"  whom  God  made  ruler  over 
liis  household  to  give  them  their  meat  in  due  season, 
will  appear  from  a  review  of  his  life  and  character,  .  ,  , 


MISCELLANEOUS.  377 

On  his  return  from  Europe,  he  re-entered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  station  with  the  same  distinguished  zeal  and 
eminent  ability  by  which  he  sustained  himself  from 
the  time  of  his  entrance  upon  that  important  trust. 

I  need  scarcely  say  to  you  that  he  died  as  the  Chris- 
tian dieth,  *^full  of  faith  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  ^^ Hav- 
ing served  his  own  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  he  has 
fallen  asleep,"  and  now  rests  from  his  labors  among  the 
blessed  and  illustrious  dead. 

Thus  ended  the  labors,  the  sufferings,  and  the  mortal 
existence  of  the  Eev.  Wilbur  Fisk,  D.  D.,  President  of 
the  Wesleyan  University — a  man  who  united  in  himself 
the  graces  of  the  Christian,  the  gentleman,  and  the 
scholar,  as  well  as  the  purity  and  dignity  of  the  minister 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  now  only  remains  to  present  some  of  those  excel- 
lent traits  of  character  by  which  he  was  distinguished. 

1.  His  learning,  though,  perhaps,  not  so  deep  and 
thorough  as  that  of  some  others,  was  nevertheless  sound, 
various,  and  of  the  most  useful  character. 

2.  His  religious  experience  was  deep  and  genuine. 
This  was  fully  evinced  by  the  uniformity  of  his  piety, 
the  humility  of  his  mind,  and  his  ardent  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  his  Divine  Master. 

His  efforts  to  do  good  were  limited  only  by  his  means. 
On  a  certain  occasion  he  was  heard  to  say,  -'As  I  have  no 
children  of  my  own  to  provide  for,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to 
do  all  I  can  for  the  benefit  of  others."  Acting  on  this 
principle  he  devoted  all  his  energies  of  soul  and  body  to 
the  best   interests  of  his  fellow  men. 

3.  Though  deeply  interested  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion, yet  he  considered  it  only  so  far  important  as  it  was 
made  subservient  to  the  spiritual  and  eternal  welfare  of 
men. 

The  holy  influence  Avhich  was  collected  around  the 


378  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

Wesleyaii  University,  by  the  power  of  his  precept  and 
example,  seconded  as  he  was  by  his  associates  and  the 
official  board,  was  extensively  felt  on  the  surrounding 
population,  and  gave  it  a  commanding  character  in  the 
community. 

His  invariable  maxim  was,  that  sanctified  learning 
only  can  be  useful  to  mankind. 

4.  His  talents  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  were  of  a 
high  order.  He  entered  deeply  and  systematically  into 
theological  truth,  and  was  thoroughly  Wesleyan  in  his 
views  of  the  gospel,  and  the  methods  of  diffusing  its 
blessings  among  mankind.  Though  never  boisterous  in 
his  manner,  but  calm  and  collected  he  was  energetic, 
plain,  and  pointed,  and  evinced  that  he  spoke  from  the 
fulness  of  his  heart — a  heart  thoroughly  imbued  with  the 
spirit  of  his  Divine  Master. 

He  was  an  original  thinker. 

His  manner  in  the  pulpit  was  solemn,  graceful,  and 
dignified  ;  his  enunciation  clear  and  impressive  ;  and  all 
his  gesticulations  corresponded  to  the  pufityand  import- 
ance of  the  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged. 

5.  Dr.  Fisk  wielded  a  powerful  pen.  The  few  printed 
sermons  he  has  left  behind  him  bespeak  for  him  the 
sound  divine,  the  able  advocate  of  revealed  truth,  and 
the  fearless  defender  of  experimental  and  practical 
religion. 

6.  Instead  of  towering  above  his  fellows  by  an  exhi- 
bition of  any  one  talent  of  superior  strength  and  brilli- 
ancy, in  him  were  concentrated  that  cluster  of  excellen- 
cies which  constituted  a  nicely  balanced  mind,  admira- 
bly adapted  to  the  variety  of  calls  which  were  made  upon 
liis  time  and  abilities.  This  concentration  of  excellencies 
created  the  symmetry  of  character  which  so  beautifully 
displayed  itself  on  all  occasions,  and  so  eminently  fitted 
him  to  move  in  the  various  circles  of  usefulness  in  which 


MISCELLANEOUS.  379 

lie  was  culled  to  exercise  his  gifts.  And  in  the  exercise 
of  these  gifts,  it  was  evident  that  he  studied  to  be  useful 
rather  than  great,  though  it  is  equally  manifest  that 
his  greatness  of  character  resulted  from  the  usefulness 
of  his  life  and  labors. 

7.  But  that  Avhich  characterized  Dr.  Fisk  among  his 
fellows,  and  rendered  him  so  eminently  useful,  was  the 
deep  vein  of  evangelical  piety  which  ran  through  all  his 
performances',  and  exerted  a  hallowing  influence  over 
his  own  mind  and  the  minds  of  others.  This  blended 
itself  in  his  private  studies,  mingled  in  his  social  inter- 
course, graced  and  sanctified  all  his  public  administra- 
tions, whether  in  the  pulpit,  on  the  platform,  or  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties  as  president  of  the  university. 

8.  In  his  social  intercourse  he  sweetly  blended  the 
meekness  of  the  Christian  and  the  gravity  of  the  minis- 
ter with  the  urbanity  of  the  gentleman  and  the  graces 
of  the  scholar.  To  the  common  courtesies  of  life  he  was 
never  inattentive,  well  knowing  that  Christianity  distin- 
guishes her  children  no  less  by  the  ''  gentleness  ''  of  their 
manners,  and  the  delicate  attention  to  the  niceties  of 
relative  duties,  than  she  does  by  the  sternness  of  her  re- 
quirements in  favor  of  purity  of  motive  and  conduct. 

9.  Though  inspired  with  that  spirit  of  Catholicism 
which  embraces  all  denominations  as  constituting  one 
Christian  brotherhood,  he  was,  nevertheless,  cordially  at- 
tached from  i)rinciple  to  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and 
usages  of  the  church  to  Avhich  he  belonged,  and  of  which 
he  was  such  a  distinguislied  ornament.  Wesley  he  vener- 
ated as  the  first  man  of  his  age,  as  the  greatest  of  modern 
reformers,  as  a  sound  divine,  and  as  one  of  the  most  evan- 
gelical, laborious,  and  successful  ministers  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

10.  It  remains  anly  that  we  look  at  him  as  the  head 
of  the  Wesleyan  University.     Here  he  seemed  to  be  the 


380  MEMOBIAL     TRIBUTES. 

center  of  attraction  to  all  connected  with  the  institution, 
whether  as  professors,  directors,  or  as  students.  His 
counsel  was  respected,  his  precepts  observed,  and  his  ex- 
ample considered  worthy  of  the  imitation  of  all.  He 
ruled  more  from  the  love  and  respect  which  were  felt 
and  entertained  for  his  character,  than  from  a  fear  of  his 
frown,  though  the  latter  was  dreaded  in  exact  proportion 
to  the  esteem  felt  for  his  exalted  worth. 

Finall}^,  we  may  say,  that  *'  Whatsoever  things  were 
lovely,  pure,  and  of  good  report,^Mn  religion  and  morals, 
in  learning  and  science,  in  spirit  and  conduct,  were,  in 
an  eminent  degree  concentrated  in  him,  and  sweetly  and 
harmoniously  blending  their  united  influence  in  his  heart 
and  life,  gave  a  symmetry,  a  finish  andpolish  to  his  char- 
acter, worthy  of  love  and  admiration  ;  and  although  as 
a  human  being  he  must  have  felt  and  exhibited  the  com- 
mon infirmities  of  our  nature,  yet,  having  been  disci- 
plined by  education,  refined  by  grace,  and  improved  by 
reading  and  extensive  observation,  he  may  be  safely  held 
up  as  an  exemplar  for  the  imitation  of  the  Christian, 
and  the  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  well  as  those  to 
whom  are  committed  the  interests  of  the  youth  of  our 
land. 

The  doctrine  of  the  text  then  has  had  an  illustration 
in  the  life  and  conduct  of  Dr.  Fisk.  He  furnished  the 
most  indubitable  evidence  of  being  a  faithful  and  luise 
steward  in  whatever  relation  he  sustained  to  the  church  ; 
and  hence  he  became,  in  the  order  of  divine  providence 
and  grace,  a  ruler  over  God's  household,  and  he  gave 
them  their  portion  of  instruction  suited  to  the  various 
relations  and  circumstances  in  life,  until  his  Lord  said 
unto  him  ; — ^'  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant ; 
thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will  make 
thee  ruler  over  many  things  ;  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of 
thy  Lor4."     Amen. 


MISCELLANEOUS,  381 


A  BISHOP. 

MEMORIAL  DISCOURSE  ON   REV.  E.  S.   JAKES,    D.D.,   LL.D., 

LATE  SENIOR  BISHOP  OF  THE   METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 
REV.   C.  H.  FOWLER,  D.D.,    LL.D. 

T^HE  first  Napoleon,  when  crossing  the  Alps,  saw  an 
-*-  old  peasant  woman  ]iastening  through  the  moun- 
tains, and  he  asked  her,  **  Whither  are  you  hastening 
this  sharp  morning?"  She  said,  '^  To  yonder  pass  to 
see  the  emperor."  He  asked,  "  What  have  you  gained 
in  him  more  than  in  the  Bourbons  ?  Have  you  not 
simply  exchanged  one  despot  for  another  T'  The  old 
peasant  woman  stopped,  thought  a  moment,  and  then 
answered,  ''  The  Bourbons  were  the  rulers  of  the  rich 
and  great ;  Napoleon  is  our  ruler.''  We  are  here  to-day, 
to  pay  a  tribute  of  greatf  ul  remembrance  to  the  cherished 
and  honored  dead,  because  Bishop  Janes  was  tlie  hishop 
of  the  common  people.  With  a  scholarship  that  made 
him  at  home  in  the  company  of  the  learned  and  philo- 
sophical, with  tastes  that  could  revel  in  the  refinements 
of  a  select  few,  with  every  social  circle  welcoming  his 
approach,  and  with  resources  sufficient  to  make  these 
varied  advantages  a  delight  and  not  a  burden,  he  still 
remained,  in  his  convictions,  in  his  habits,  in  his  home, 
in  his  sympathies,  and  in  his  affections,  the  brother  of 
the  laborer  and  the  friend  of  the  poor  ;  and  the  very 
last  business  act  of  his  open  right  hand  was  to  answer 
to  a  cry  for  help.  As  a  Missionary  Society  we  have  lost 
a  mighty  friend,  who  labored  and  planned  and  lived  for 
us,  who  cared  for  our  souls,  and  who  sought  the  society 
of  the  wealthy  only  for  our  sakes.  He  is  our  dead,  there- 
fore, are  we  here.   .  .  . 

The  elements  out  of  whicli  Bishop  Janes'  greatness 
was  constructed  wei'C  simple    and    easily    apprehended. 


38^  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

They  are  ob  the  surface  of  his  transparent  charactei*. 
They  are  open  to  the  gaze  of  the  common  observer.  It 
is  difficult  to  grasp  a  sphere.  It  slips  from  the  grasp. 
We  must  encompass  it  to  hold  it.  This  is  the  problem 
before  us.  Thus  it  happens  that  a  man  is  comprehended 
only  by  his  peers.  We  need  not  add  that  Bishop  Janes 
must  wjiit  for  a  biographer.  Let  us  catalogue  the  com- 
ponent parts  of  this  character. 

Let  us  place  reason  at  the  head  of  the  list,  next  his 
Common  sense  ....  his  Conscience  .  .  .  his  Ambi- 
tion ...  his  Courage  .  .  .  his  Affection  .   .  . 

So  rounded  and  complete  was  his  character  that,  ap- 
proached from  almost  any  side,  it  seemed  to  be  greatest. 
At  first  sight  he  seemed  not  so  great  ;  but  as  we  worked 
up  into  his  abilities  they  grew  to  the  limit  of  our  com- 
prehension. His  powers  were  like  groups  of  mountain 
peaks  towering  up  side  by  side,  and  so  close  together  as 
to  reduce  each  other's  apparent  heiglit.  Only  the  accu- 
rate tests  of  science  show  their  great  elevation  above  the 
sea.  The  group  of  the  exalted  peaks  in  this  wonderful 
man  I  would  call  his  common  sense,  his  conscience,  his 
will,  his  concentration,  his  ambition,  his  industry,  and 
his  economy  of  power.  Other  peculiarities,  seen  in  them- 
selves, would  have  made  him  a  marked  man;  but  I 
think  these  are  the  peaks  with  which  he  held  up  the 
crown  of  his  greatness. 

The  elements  were  so  evenly  mixed  in  him,  and  the 
powers  so  nicely  poised,  that  he  seemed  able  to  do  his 
best  on  all  occasions  and  under  any  circumstances. 

As  Q,  preacher,  he  had  few  superiors.  As  a  platforr^i 
speaker,  he  could  come  in  any  part  of  any  programme, 
and  be  heard,  enjoyed,  and  remembered. 

As  a  pastor,  he  was  methodical,  exact,  easy,  and  with- 
out a  blemish. 


Utscellaneous.  3S^ 

He  was  an  orator,  of  superior  parts.  ''  He  was  elo- 
quent/^ 

He  was  a  iliinher,  able  to  trace  and  reveal  the  hidden 
relations  of  truths. 

He  was  a  writer  of  great  ability. 

He  was  a  statesman,  measured  by  his  papers  and  by 
the  wisdom  of  his  administration. 

He  was  an  organizer,  handling  with  ease  and  ability 
the  system  of  superintendencies  that  constitute  Methodist 
polity. 

He  was  a  leader,  not  rushing  into  reyolution,  but 
steadily  moving  up  toward  the  advance  line  as  rapidly  as 
it  became  reform  instead  of  schism. 

He  was  an  administrator,  when  it  became  necessary 
for  him  to  assume  responsibility  he  did  it  so  gently  that 
all  felt  relieved  to  ha^c  it  finally  determined. 

As  a  bishop  he  was  a  model. 

Bishop  Janes  must  be  ranked  among  the  great  men 
of  the  Christian  Church,  and  his  greatness  must  endure. 
We  hardly  call  the  ephemeral  great ;  we  want  our  great- 
ness to  abide.  Meteors  that  flash  out  upon  the  darkness 
only  long  enough  to  reveal  the  gloom  and  oblivion  into 
which  they  rush  are  not  types  of  greatness.  Suns  that 
shine  on  forever  rather  impress  us  thus.  Bishop  Janes 
will  stand  this  test. 

The  only  man  who  could  give  any  exhaustive  catalogue 
of  the  duties  and  work  of  Bishop  Janes  is  now  voiceless 
in  the  grave.  We  can  figure  the  weight  of  the  atmos- 
phere on  a  square  inch,  or  on  the  surface  of  the  city,  or 
on  the  earth  itself ;  but  no  man  has  found  the  outside 
spot  on  which  to  correctly  measure  the  weight  of  '^the 
care  of  all  the  Churches."  Gethsemane  is  the  type  of 
that  outside  spot.  We  can  go  with  this  little  man  of 
great  achievements  through  the  ceaseless  round  of  his 
duticS;  watch  him  on  the  wing,  like  the  bee  gathering 


384  MmroniAL   TniDurm 

honey  for  the  marriage-supper  from  every  field  on  earth  ; 
yesterday  seeking  to  steady  some  wavering  brother  in  the 
streets  of  Boston^  to-day  journeying  on  foot  among  the 
camps  of  the  miners  near  the  Golden  Gate,  to-morrow 
searching  in  the  crowded  cities  of  heathenism  for  the 
picket  line  of  Christianity,  crossing  oceans,  scaling 
mountains,  traversing  continents,  till  the  surface  of  the 
world  seemed  more  familiar  to  him  than  the  retreats  of 
his  home,  and  the  faces  and  wants  of  the  great  army  of 
workers  in  all  lands  were  more  definitely  fixed  in  his 
memory  than  the  faces  of  the  neighbors  of  his  family. 
We  can  watch  him  working  right  on,  year  in  and  year 
out,  knowing  no  vacations  except  the  quiet  of  the  light- 
ning express,  or  the  repose  of  the  midnight  jerky  of 
the  frontier,  and  asking  no  rest  but  hard  work. 

The  life  of  Bishop  Janes  had  but  one  purpose,  and 
his  death  could  leave  but  one  testimony.  The  light 
that  is  brighter  than  the  noonday  sun,  that  had  been 
shining  into  his  life  for  nearly  fifty  years,  could  not  fail 
him  in  the  dark  valley.  He  has  walked  with  God  so 
many  years,  and  so  often  pointed  the  dying  and  sorrow- 
ing to  the  city  with  gates  of  pearl,  and  streets  of  gold, 
and  palaces  of  fire,  and  thones  of  light,  that  all  these 
things  are  familiar  to  the  eye  of  his  faith.  He  enters 
heaven,  from  the  harvest-field  of  the  world,  with  the 
quietness  of  perfect  repose.  I  know  of  nothing  grander 
in  the  history  of  the  race.  In  thought  I  have  gone 
out  through  the  Gate  of  the  Martyrs  in  Eome  with 
Paul  as  he  went  forth  to  kiss  the  headsman^s  ax.  ^'  I  am 
now  ready  to  be  offered.  ...  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith: 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteous- 
ness." Only  such  a  soul  as  Paul  could  use  such  an  ex- 
perience. I  have  walked  yonder  with  Elijah,  and  caught 
the  rapture  of  his  soul  as  he  ncarcd  the  Jordan ;  I  have 


M1SGELLANE0V8,  885 

watched  this  grand  old  prophet  of  the  mountains,  who 
had  lived  in  the  solitude  of  nature's  grandest  scones,  who 
had  gazed  with  eye  undimmed  on  the  clouds  of  fire  that 
wrajDped  the  mountain  summit,  and  stood  with  courage 
unabated,  with  his  foot  on  the  heaving  bosom  of  the 
earthquake  ;  I  have  seen  this  man  step  into  the  chariot 
of  Israel,  and  ascend  in  a  whirlwind  of  fire,  and  I  have 
been  awed,  as  in  the  presence  of  God.  But  to  my  mind 
there  is  something  unlil^e  these,  indeed,  but  in  its  kind" 
not  inferior  in  calm  sublimity,  in  the  dying  of  Bishop 
Janes.  At  the  end  of  his  worldly  journey  he  pauses  a 
moment  in  the  bed  of  the  Jordan,  and,  looking  straight 
up  into  the  face  of  God,  he  says,  ^^I  am  not  disap- 
pointed.''' 

Brothers,  the  substantial  part  of  this  life  we  may  re- 
peat. Most  of  its  greatness  lies  within  the  reach  of  a 
holy  ambition  and  consecrated  will.  Average  gifts,  con- 
centrated into  power,  exercised  into  greatness,  purified 
into  strength,  glorified  into  beauty,  vitalized  by  the  di- 
vine Spirit,  and  driven  by  an  absolute,  despotic,  resist- 
less, omnipotent  will,  can  repeat  the  wonders  of  this 
character  as  often  as  the  world  needs  such  leaders.  May 
the  mantle  of  this  man  fall  upon  the  young  men  entering 
the  ministry  till  every  ear  on  earth  hears  the  good  news, 
and  every  seat  in  heaven  by  the  side  of  Paul  is  occupied! 


"When  I  get  to  Heaven,  I  shall  see  three  wonders  there. 
The  first  wonder  will  be  to  see  people  there  that  I  did  not  ex- 
pect; the  second  wonder  will  be  to  miss  many  persons  wliom  I 
did  expect  to  see;  and  the  third  and  greatest  wonder  of  all  will 
be  to  find  myself  there." — John  Newton. 
17 


gee  MEMORIAL     TRiBurm. 

A  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

A   WISE    AND    FAITHFUL   EULER. 
JOHN   M'CLINTOCK,  D.D.,   LL.D. 

ON  THE  DAY  OF    THE    FUNERAL    OP  PRESIDENT    LINCOLN,    IN    ST.  PAUL'S    M.  E. 
CHURCH,  N.  Y. 

Remember  iliem  icMch  have  the  rule  over  you,     .     .     .     whose  faith 
follow. — Heb.  xiii :  7. 

T  T  is  the  Lord ;  His  will  be  clone.  The  blow  has 
stunned  the  nation.  Had  we  no  trust  in  Him  who 
conquers  even  the  last  enemy,  the  "  yictory  of  the 
grave"  which  calls  us  together  to-day  would  fill  us  with 
despair,  and  even  with  all  the  light  which  the  word  of 
God  affords,  and  with  all  the  strength  which  our  faith 
in  God  gives  us,  we  can  still  only  say,  ''  His  way  is  in 
the  sea,  and  His  path  in  the  deep  waters. ""  We  shall 
know  hereafter  what  He  doeth  ;  but  we  know  not  now. 
''  Remember, ^^  says  our  text,  and  ^'follow.'" 
There  is  little  fear  of  our  forgetting — there  is  little  fear 
of  the  world  forgetting  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
It  was  the  remark  of  Heine,  the  German  poet  and  satirist, 
that  ''men  preserve  the  memory  of  their  destroyers 
better  than  that  of  their  benefactors ;  the  warrior^s 
name  outlasts  the  philanthropist's."''  There  is  some  truth 
in  this,  taking  the  world's  history  as  it  has  been.  But 
it  is  one  of  the  best  signs  of  the  times  that  men's  hearts 
are  more  than  ever  attracted  by  moral  greatness,  and 
that  all  laurels  are  not  stained  with  blood.  The  day  is 
dawning,  even  though  its  rising  sun  be  dimmed  by 
clouds,  and  struggles  up  amid  gloom,  and  tears,  and 
blood,  in  which  the  glory  of  the  reformer  shall  outshine 
that  of  the  conqueror — in  which  the 

Saints  of  humanity,  strong,  yet  tender, 
Making  the  pjesent  hopeful  with  their  life, 


MISCELLANEOnS.  m 

slitiU  be  held  the  true  heroes  iu  men's  thoughts,  as  they 
are  the  true  heroes  in  the  progress  of  humanity,  and 
before  the  eye  of  God.  And  to  this  lieroic  class  belongs 
the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  fell,  if  ever  man 
did,  fighting  the  battles  of  humanity. 

The  bullet  of  the  assassin  has  done  the  work  of  an 
age.  To-day  that  name  stands  as  high  before  this  whole 
people,  of  all  parties,  of  all  sects,  of  all  classes,  as  it 
would  have  stood  in  half  a  century,  had  the  blow  of  the 
assassin  never  fallen.  Party  spirit,  for  the  time  at  least, 
is  dead.     Who  thinks  of  party  now  ? 

The  streets  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  of  every 
city  in  the  Union,  from  Portland  to  San  Francisco,  are 
clad  in  mourning.  I  have  been  struck,  in  going  through 
the  poorer  streets  of  tliis  cit}^,  to  find  the  emblems  of 
sorrow  more  general,  if  possible,  on  the  abodes  of  the 
humble  and  the  lowly,  than  on  the  stately  dwellings  of 
the  rich  in  the  grand  avenues.  All  over  this  land,  and 
over  all  tlie  civilized  world,  I  dare  say,  there  shall  be 
grief  and  mourning  in  the  hearts  and  homes  of  those 
who  are  called  the  ''  common  people  " — of  whom  was 
Abraham  Lincoln.  The  '*  ruling  classes ''  abroad  will 
grieve  also,  but  for  a  very  different  reason. 

But,  while  there  will  be  real  grief  among  the  ruling 
classes,  there  shall  be  sorrow  of  another  sort  among  all 
who  have  hoped  and  struggled  for  the  future  equality  of 
the  race,  and  who,  these  four  weary  years,  have  been 
watching  the  issues  of  our  great  war  for  freedom,  with 
an  intensity  of  feeling  only  next  to  our  own. 

And  now  let  us  ask  why  all  this  sorrow  ?  Whence 
this  universal  love  ?  Certainly  it  was  not  intellectual 
grandeur  that  so  drew  all  hearts  toward  Lincoln.  But  it 
is  stupid  to  talk  of  him  as  a  man  of  mean  intellect.  He 
had  a  giant's  work  to  do,  and  he  has  done  it  nobly. 
Y,\^\\  in  his  speeches  and  w^ritings,  where  defects  of  form 


388  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

reveal  the  want  of  early  culture  and  give  room  for  the 
carping  of  petty  critics  who  can  see  no  farther  than  the 
form,  I  do  not  fear  to  say  that  the  calm  criticism  of 
history  will  find  marks  of  the  highest  power  of  mind. 
With  such  gifts  as  God  gave  him,  he  was  enabled  to 
pierce  to  the  very  core  of  a  matter,  while  others,  with 
their  fine  rhetoric,  could  only  talk  around  it. 

Yet  it  was  not  for  the  intellect,  but  for  the  moral 
qualities  of  the  man  that  we  loved  him.  It  is  a  wise 
order  of  Providence  that  it  is  so  that  men  are  drawn. 
We  never  love  cold  intellect.  We  may  admire  it ;  we 
may  wonder  at  it  ;  sometimes  we  may  even  worship  it, 
but  we  never  love  it.  The  hearts  of  men  leap  out  only 
after  the  image  of  God  in  man,  and  the  image  of  God  in 
man  is  love.  Oh  I  what  a  large  and  lovmg  heart  was 
stilled  last  Friday  !  How  fine,  how  tender,  how  all-em- 
bracing was  tlie  love  of  that  old  man  !  Men  of  all  class- 
es were  alike  w^on  by  his  personal  magnetism.  Those 
who  have  traduced  him  most,  and  those  who  have  been 
most  cai^ried  away  by  the  blind  fury  of  partisan  hate,  and 
have  gone  to  Washington  to  see  him,  have  always  come 
away  disarmed. 

The  entire  absence  of  vindictiveness,  either  personal 
or  political,  was  one  of  the  ripe  fruits  of  Lincoln's  native 
tenderness.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  his  saying  a  hard 
thing  of  his  opponents  ?  After  all  the  vile  calumnies 
heaped  upon  him  at  home  and  abroad,  did  you  ever  know 
him  to  utter  a  single  word  showing  personal  hate,  or 
even  personal  feeling  ?  It  is  a  marvelous  record.  He 
lived  as  he  died  :  the  last  of  his  public  utterances  closed 
with  the  words,  "  With  malice  towards  none,  with  char- 
ity for  all."  This  phrase  will  fall  hereafter  into  that 
small  number  of  phrases,  not  Scripture,  but  which  men 
often  cite,  unwittingly,  as  though  they  were. 

Another  striking  element  of  his  moral  nature  was  his 


MISCELLANEOUS.  389 

profound  faith — a  faitli  not  like  that  of  the  man  who 
now  stands  at  the  head  of  the  French  people,  a  blind 
fatalistic  confidence  in  his  own  destiny,  or  in  the  destiny 
of  the  system  with  which  he  is  identified.  Nor  yet 
merely  an  uncalculating  faith  in  the  wisdom,  virtue  or 
steadfastness  of  the  American  people.  Abraham  Lin- 
coln had  this,  indeed  ;  but  it  was  not  all  :  he  had  a 
profound  religious  faith  :  not  simply  a  general  recogni- 
tion of  the  law  of  order  in  the  universe,  but  a  profound 
faith  in  a  Personal  God.  Of  his  personal  religious  expe- 
rience I  can  not  speak  of  my  own  knowledge,  but  we 
have  more  than  one  cheering  testimony  about  it.  I  have 
been  assured  that  ever  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg!!  he 
was  daily  in  the  habit  of  supplicating  in  prayer  the  throne 
of  divine  grace,  as  a  believer  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  that 
from  that  time  he  classed  himself  with  believers.  Oh  ! 
what  prayers  those  must  have  been  in  the  dark  days  of 
'63,  and  how  wondrously  has  God  answered  them. 

I  shall  not  speak  of  tlie  patriotism  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, though  it  is  one  of  the  points  of  which  I  had  in- 
tended to  speak,  but  you  know  all  about  it.  You  know 
what  a  tremendous  duty  fell  to  him,  and  how  he  did 
it  all  the  way  through  ;  seduced  by  no  blandishment, 
frightened  by  no  threats  from  the  steady  pursuit  of  his 
one  duty — to  restore  the  integrity  of  the  government. 
How  far  he  succeeded  is  known  to  you  all.  The  ^' forts 
and  places''  which  he  said  he  would  retake  are  all  ours 
to-day,  and  the  main  army  of  the  rebellion  is  scattered 
and  gone  ! 

The  manners  of  Abraham  Lincoln  have  been  a  mat- 
ter of  a  great  deal  of  comment,  and  of  snobbish  com- 
ment too.  If  unaffected  simplicity,  the  most  entire 
ease,  and  the  power  to  put  one's  visitor  at  ease,  and  do 
it  unconsciously  ;  if  these  are  the  ultimate  results  and 
the  final  tests  of  refinement,  as  they  un(^uestionably  u.rcj 


390  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

then  was  he  the  peer  of  any  nobleman  in  manners. 
When  you  shall  learn  to  be  as  easy,  as  gentle,  as  truly 
unaffected,  as  free  from  all  thought  of  yourself,  as  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  was,  then  indeed  will  you  have  finished 
manners.  What  if  there  were  a  few  accidental  remnants 
of  his  former  habits  ?  Of  all  people  in  the  world,  we 
are  the  very  last  that  should  think  of  these. 

We  had  no  fear  about  Abraham  Lincoln,  except  the 
fear  that  he  would  be  too  forgiving.  Oh !  what  an  epitaph 
— that  the  only  fear  men  had  was  that  he  would  be  too 
tender,  that  he  had  too  much  love  ;  in  a  word,  that  he 
was  too  Christ-like  !  In  coming  ages,  it  shall  not  be  the 
least  idea  of  his  titles  to  the  veneration  and  love  of 
mankind,  that  his  compeers  found  no  fault  with  him, 
except  that  he  had  too  much  love. 

Dear  friends,  the  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln  is  closed. 
After  a  very,  very  stormy  voyage,  the  ship  has  reached 
her  harbor  at  last.  And  how  after  all  these  tempests, 
these  fierce  blasts,  these  rising  floods,  how  did  the  ship 
sail  in  ?  Shattered  and  sinking,  with  sails  all  torn  and 
rent  ?  No,  dear  friends,  God  ordered  it  otherwise.  Not 
a  mark  of  the  storm  was  on  the  noble  vessel ;  the  hull 
was  sound,  the  spars  were  strong,  the  sails  were  spread, 
with  the  broad  flag  flying  again  as  it  never  waved  before, 
and  with  pennants  of  red,  white  and  blue  streaming 
gloriously  and  triumphantly  over  all,  the  ship  sailed  into 
port,  and  the  angels  of  God  said  their  glad  '^  All  liail !" 
So  now  say  I — and  I  venture  to  speak  in  your  behalf, 
as  well  as  my  own — xlbraham  Lincoln,  Patriot,  Philan- 
thropist, Christian,  Martyr,  Hail !  and  Farewell  ! 

And  now,  what  are  to  be  the  results  of  this  tragedy 
to  the  country  and  mankind  ?  It  is  God  that  rules,  and 
already  we  see  that,  even  in  this  terrible  crime.  He  has 
made  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him.  One  thing  is  clear 
^— even  now  the  American  people  are  united  as  they  were 


MISCELLANEOUS.  391 

never  united  before.  The  Republic  is  not  gone,  thank 
God,  but  stands  out  in  grander  proportions,  is  established 
upon  a  firmer  foundation  than  ever  before.  In  the  four 
days  that  have  passed  since  the  shot  that  laid  Abraham 
Lincoln  low,  the  work  of  fifty  years  in  the  consolida- 
tion of  the  Eepublic  has  been  done.  The  morning  of 
the  same  day  that  saw  one  President  die,  saw  another 
quietly  inaugurated  and  as  quietly  performing  his  func- 
tions. 

Another  lesson  we  have  learned  is  this :  that  in  our 
government  no  one  man  is  essential.  The  Harpers  hiive 
just  published  a  book  by  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte  on 
the  Life  of  Julius  Csssar.  Its  object  is  to  teach  the 
world  that  it  must  be  governed  by  its  great  men  ;  that 
they  make  epochs  and  not  merely  mark  them.  How 
suddenly  that  book  has  been  refuted,  and  what  a  blow  has 
been  given  to  this  gospel  of  Napoleon,  by  the  assassination 
of  Lincoln  and  its  issues.  Here  is  one  gi'eater  than 
Caesar,  struck  down  as  Caesar  was,  and  yet  the  pillars  of 
the  Republic  are  unshaken.  What  a  pitiful  anachronism 
does  the  Imperial  plea  for  Caesarism  appear,  in  presence 
of  the  dead  Lincoln,  and  the  mourning,  yet  living  and 
triumphant  Republic  ! 

Let  us  now  gather  one  or  two  practical  lessons  for 
ourselves  and  our  children.  Hatred  of  assassination  is 
one  of  these  lessons,  if,  indeed,  we  needed  to  learn  it. 
The  work  that  Brutus  did  to  Caesar  was  just  as  bad  a 
work  as  that  of  Booth  to  Lincoln.  It  was  centuries  be- 
fore humanity  recovered  from  the  poisoned  wound  it 
received  from  the  stroke  of  tlie  dagger  that  pierced  the 
breast  of  Caesar.  Teach  your  children,  moreover,  not 
only  to  hate  assassination,  but  treason  as  well ;  for  treason 
breeds  assassins,  as  it  breeds  all  other  forms  of  crime  and 
wrong.  You  cannot  be  too  severe  upon  it  in  your 
thoughts  or  in  your  talk  ;  you  are  severe  upon  the  rob- 


392  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

ber  and  the  assassin  ;  shall  you  be  lenient  toward  the 
treason  which  has  begotten  both  robbery  and  assassin- 
ation ? 

Remember,  too,  that  as  treason  is  the  parent  of  assas- 
sination, so  slavery  has  been  the  parent  of  treason.  Is  it 
necessary  for  me  to  exhort  you  to  teach  your  children  to 
hate  slavery  too  ?  In  this  one  thing  I  ask  you  to  join 
with  me  this  day.  Let  us  bow  ourselves  before  Almighty 
God,  and  vow  that  so  far  as  in  us  lies,  none  of  us  will 
ever  agree  to  any  pacification  of  this  land,  until  slavery 
be  utterly  extirpated. 

One  more  lesson,  and  not  the  least.  If  anything  I 
have  said,  or  anything  that  you  read  or  hear  in  these  sad 
days,  breeds  within  you  a  single  revengeful  feeling,  even 
towards  the  leaders  of  this  rebellion,  then  think  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  pray  God  to  make  you  merciful. 
Think  of  the  prayer  of  Christ,  which  the  President  said, 
after  his  Saviour,  "Father,  forgive  them,  they  know  not 
what  they  do."  Let  there  be  no  place  for  revenge  in  our 
souls  ;  justice  we  may  and  must  demand,  but  revenge, 
never.  ''  Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay,  saith  the 
Lord."  I  counsel  you  also  to  discountenance  all  dis- 
order, all  attempts  by  private  persons  to  avenge  the  public 
wrong,  or  even  to  punish  sympathizers  with  treason. 
The  region  of  slavery  was  the  natural  home  of  such 
things  as  these  ;  let  us  have  none  of  them.  And  soon, 
when  the  last  shackles  shall  have  fallen,  and  throughout 
our  land,  from  sea  to  sea,  there  shall  be  no  master  and  no 
slave,  the  blessed  Peace  shall  come,  for  which  we  have 
looked,  and  prayed,  and  fought  so  long,  when  the  Re- 
public shall  be  established  upon  the  eternal  foundations 
of  Freedom  and  Justice,  to  stand,  we  trust,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  down  to  the  last  syllable  of  reoorded 
Timec 


MISCELLANEOUS,  393 


A  WIFE. 

JESUS  " 
ALBERT  S.    HUNT,    D.D.,    IN  BROOKLYN. 

AT  THE  FUNERAL  OF  MRS.   MARY  C.  FOSS,    WIFE  OF   BISHOP    FOSS,    BROOKLYN. 

"Jesus  said  unto  her,  1  am  the  Besurrection  and  tJte  Life.^* 
—John  xi :  25. 

A  FRIEND  has  been  removed.  Eight  days  before 
-^^  God  received  her  to  himself  she  took  he:*  little 
child  by  the  hand,  and  walking  in  a  meditative  and 
thankful  mood  to  a  graveyard,  npon  one  of  the  hillsides 
of  her  native  town,  seated  herself  in  waiting  for  a  funeral 
procession,  which  was  to  accompany,  from  the  village  a 
few  miles  distant,  the  remains  of  a  young  patriot,  who 
had  given  his  life  to  Christ  and  his  country. 

It  is  ^*a  joy  forever, ^^  to  look  upon  the  landscape 
which  was  spread  before  her,  on  that  bright  Sabbath 
afternoon. 

She  waited  long  for  the  funeral  train,  but  the  hour 
of  her  waiting  was  not  lost.  Aside  from  the  numberless 
associations  of  her  early  life,  which  could  have  been 
awakened  only  to  do  her  good,  the  praises  which  then 
and  there  ascended  to  God,  must  have  moved  her  soul 
like  a  grand  choral  service.  The  prophecy  was  verified 
— ^'  The  mountains  shall  bring  peace." 

But  the  bearers  of  the  dead  are  at  hand.  They  enter 
the  gateway.  Slowly,  silently,  and  with  that  peculiar 
thoughtfulness  which  makes  a  funeral  in  the  country 
so  unlike  a  funeral  in  the  city,  the  sad  train  moves 
toward  the  grave.  The  silence  is  broken  by  the  voice  of 
the  minister  of  Christ,  ''I  am  the  resurrection  q,nd  the 
17* 


304  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

life  ;  be  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet 
shall  he  live,  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me 
shall  never  die." 

The  soul  of  our  sister  was  thrilled  as  it  had  never 
been  thrilled  before,  by  the  peerless  glory  of  this  central 
doctrine  of  the  Grospel.  Tears  started  in  her  eyes.  Then 
He,  whose  way  it  is  to  '^  still  the  enemy  by  ordaining 
strength  out  of  the  mouth  of  babes, ^'  put  it  into  the 
heart  of  her  child  of  two  summers  to  pluck  a  flower,  and 
with  cheering  words,  place  it  in  her  mother^s  hand,  as 
the  answer  to  those  tears. 

We  discover  something  in  the  lessons  of  the  hour  in 
the  graveyard,  culminating  as  they  do  in  such  touching 
symbolism,  whicli  illustrates  better  than  studied  devices, 
Paul's  sublime  argument  concerning  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead. 

And  these  words  of  Jesus,  ^^  I  am  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Life!" 

This  is  the  central  Avord  of  one  of  the  most  simple, 
lucid,  and  affecting  narratives  of  the  Gospel.  It  implies 
that  the  dead  shall  be  raised  at  the  last  day,  and  more, 
it  declares  that  tlie  power  of  this  final  resurrection, 
even  then  encompassed  the  sorrowing  Martha,  and  her 
sleeping  brother.  He  is  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life 
— '*  the  Resurrection  "  because  he  is  ''  the  Life.'^  Herein 
rested  her  hope,  and  his  glory. 

Let  us  name  some  familiar  ideas  concerning  Jesus, 
upon  the  consideration  of  which  we  may  enter  with  the 
hope  of  reaching  a  position  from  wiiich  our  faith  may 
readily  lay  hold  upon  him  as  ''the  Resurrection."  They 
are  these  :  His  Wisdom;  His  Tenderness,  and  His 
Power. 

1.  Very  many  are  the  evidences  we  have  of  the  Wis- 
dom of  Jesus.     He  so  selects  and  arranges  his  proofs,  that 


MISCELLANEO  US.  39o 

the  heart  of  humanity  opens  healthfully  under  their 
light  and  warmth.  He  does  not  blind  and  bewilder  us 
with  the  glory  of  the  miracle  in  Bethany,  because  we 
have  been  prepared  for  it,  by  less  dazzling  displays  of  his 
power  over  death.  The  ^^  ruler's  daughter"  opens  the 
way  for  the  coming  of  the  "widow's  son,"  and  it  was 
needful  that  both  should  go  before  the  loved  one  of 
Bethany.  But  more  than  this,  the  raising  of  Lazarus 
did  not  furnish  full  proof  of  His  avowal,  ''I  am  the 
Resurrection  and  the  Life."  This  miracle,  also,  was 
preparatory,  and  thus  humanity  was  not  withered,  but 
cheered  by  the  brilliant  testimony  which  afterward 
came  from  the  tomb  in  the  garden  of  Joseph  of  Arima- 
thea. 

Thus,  beginning  with  a  meditation  upon  his  Wis- 
dom, we  are  led  in  a  few  steps  to  his  grave,  and  feel 
how  truly  he  is  "the  Way"  to  himself  as  "  the  Kesur- 
rection." 

11.  Let  us  seek  another  path.  Here  is  the  Tender- 
ness of  Jesus.     It  is  always  manifesting  itself. 

But  here  in  the  narrative  concerning  the  sickness  and 
death  of  Lazarus,  are  words  which  give  a  shock  to  our 
faith  in  his  tenderness.  The  sisters  send  a  message  to 
Jesus.  "He  whom  thou  lovest  is  sick."  No  more  is 
said.  This  surely  would  be  enough.  It  would  be  a 
waste  of  words  to  add,  "  Come  and  see  him."  They  were 
confident  that  he  would  come  at  once,  as  the  friend  and 
the  healer.  And  do  you  not  hope  with  them  ?  Would 
you  not  ]iave  expected  that  the  narrative  from  this  point 
would  read  something  in  this  way  : — Now  Jesus  loved 
Martha,  and  Mary,  and  Lazarus,  and  tlierefore  he  has- 
tened to  Bethany  ?  But  it  tells  us  that  he  loved  them, 
and  therefore  he  tarried  for  two  days  where  he  was. 
What  can  explain   this  apparent   inconsistency  ?    The 


396  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES.     ■ 

answer  is  here.  '^  This  sickness  is  not  unto  death,  but 
for  the  glory  of  God,  that  the  Son  of  God  might  be 
glorified  thereby/'  In  other  words  :  The  sickness 
was  not  unto  death,  but  unto  the  resurrection  from 
death. 

Gladly  would  he  have  hastened  to  Bethany,  but  he 
denied  himself  that  he  might  open  a  way  in  which  he 
could  lead  humanity  to  a  better  understanding  of  his 
words,  ^'I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life." 

Thus  beginning  with  the  tenderness  of  Jesus,  our  es- 
tablished views  are  first  violated  by  a  strange  delay,  and 
then  by  a  gladness  still  more  strange.  We  seek  an  ex- 
planation, and  find  it  at  the  grave  in  Betliany,  where  he 
teaches  us  by  a  preparatory  miracle,  to  look  on  toward 
him  as  'Hhe  Resurrection.'' 

III.  We  seek  still  another  path  and  would  come  near 
to  Jesus  as  ''  the  Resurrection  "  by  the  way  of  his  Power. 
I  know  of  no  display  of  his  power  which  more  amazes 
me  than  that  which  was  needful  to  subject  himself,  as 
''  The  Life,"  to  the  power  of  death.  How  expressive 
are  his  own  words  !  "  I  lay  down  my  life  that  I  might 
take  it  again.''  Who  doubts  now  that  he  is  "  the  Resur- 
rection and  the  Life  ?"  Not  only  has  he  come  forth  from 
the  grave  himself,  but  even  while  his  power  was  in  exer- 
cise, to  the  end  that  death  might  have  a  temporary  hold 
upon  him,  he  was  so  truly  "  the  Life "  that  from  his 
very  tomb  currents  of  vitality  were  issuing  which  found 
their  way  into  the  graves  of  mau}^,  and  quietly  put  them 
in  readiness  to  go  forth  with  the  Lord  of  Life. 

Are  you  ever  perplexed  in  your  meditations  upon 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead  ?  Come  back  from  your 
vain  speculations !  The  mystery  is  too  great  for  you. 
Come  bury  your  face  in  the  bosom  of  your  risen  Lord, 
You  are  risen  already  ! 


MIS  CELLAJSKQ  VS.  ^9? 

This  is  what  the  Siiviour  meant  wlieii  he  said,  "  I  am 
the  ResuiTection  and  the  Life."  It  is  what  Paul  had  in 
his  heart  when  he  talked  of  the  power  of  the  resurrec- 
tion "  as  something  he  could  know,  and  wlien  he  ad- 
dressed the  Coiossians  as  those  who  were  already  '''risen 
with  Christ/' 

0,  for  faith  in  Jesus  '''the  Resurrection!" 
The  friend  whose  sudden  death  has  called  us  together 
knew    the    power   of   the   resurrection   in  this  highest 

sense. 

It  is  time  that  I  should  speak  of  her. 

She  was  born  in  the  town  of  Salisbury,  in  the  State 
of  Connecticut,  in  the  year  1832.  Her  parents,  who  still 
survive  her,  are  worthy  representatives  of  a  consistent, 
prayerful,  cheerful  type  of  Methodism.  Unlike  many, 
they  have  ever  acted  under  the  promptings  of  a  convic- 
tion that  religion  should  be  a  power  and  a  joy  at  the 

fireside. 

The  consistent  living  and  the  prayers  of  these  parents, 
more  probably  than  all  other  agencies  combined,  have 
been  instrumental  in  leading  a  large  family  of  children, 
of  which  our  friend  was  one  of  the  youngest,  to  know 
the  bliss  of  a  personal  trust  in  Christ.  Our  sister  was 
never  able  to  mark  the  precise  period  of  her  conversion. 
When  a  child,  only  eight  or  nine  years  of  age,  she  was 
often  seen  at  the  altar  of  God  seeking  his  favor.  After- 
ward she  was  greatly  moved  under  the  ministrations  of 
Dr.  Davis  W.  Clark,  who  was  stationed  in  her  native 
town,  but  it  was  in  the  quietude  of  her  own  home 
and  in  conversation  with  her  mother,  that  slie  was 
fiist  awakened  to  the  consciousness  of  Cod's  personal 
favor. 

The  leading  lesson  of  her  life  is  one  concerning  the 
blessedness  of  Christian  nurture.     She   was  trained  for 


398  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES, 

God  (ind  grew  up  into  Clirist.  Now  this  was  a  gain  not 
only  because  it  blessed  her  with  a  longer  day  of  Christ- 
ian service,  but  it  was  a  gain  also,  because  the  impres- 
sions made  upon  the  heart  of  Childhood  by  the  holy 
living  and  words  of  parents,  are  more  i)otent  to  uphold, 
restrain,  and  comfort  in  after  life  than  any  other  class  of 
influences.  Our  departed  friend  never  knew  liow  to  be 
sufficiently  tliankful  for  the  religious  atmosphere  and 
sway  of  the  home  of  her  early  days.  Among  her  first 
wishes,  as  she  began  to  recover  from  sickness  a  few 
months  ago,  was  that  her  i)arents  should  be  informed 
^^  how  richly  she  had  been  reaping  during  the  most  seri- 
ous illness  of  her  life,  the  fruits  of  the  excellent  Christ- 
ian training  she  had  received  at  their  hands.'^  Passages 
of  Scripture  which  had  been  impressed  upon  her  heart 
in  the  home  conversations  of  her  childhood  were  the 
abiding  benedictions  of  her  sick  room,  and  even  passages 
of  the  family  prayer  offered  long  before,  came  back  to 
bless  her.  Fathers  and  mothers  !  the  choicest  blessing 
you  can  bestow  upon  your  children  is  a  pure  Christian 
nurture. 

Another  point  demands  our  thought  as  it  finds  illus- 
tration in  the  life  of  our  departed  friend.  Her  religion 
was  not  a  garment  worn,  but  an  influence  absorbed,  and 
the  result  was  that  her  life  was  not  only  luminous  but 
uniform.  It  seemed  easy  for  her  to  pass  from  the  com- 
mon topics  of  conversation  to  the  higher  themes  of 
faith. 

And  now  shall  I  attempt  to  sketch  her  as  she  ap- 
peared at  her  own  fireside  ?  I  could  not  if  I  would,  and 
I  would  not.  There  are  sacred  memories  of  the  loved 
and  gone  which  ;ire  all  our  own.  Enough  for  me  to  say 
here.  She  was  a  Christian  mother  and  a  Christian  wife. 
My  brother  !  you  shall  keep  the  rest.  We  have  no  right 
in  it! 


MIS  CEL  LA  NKO  US.  39& 

Her  death  was  sudden,  but  she  was  ready  to  die — 
ever  ready  !  When  she  came  down  to  the  borders  of  the 
grave  a  few  months  ago,  she  was  abundantly  supported 
by  grace.  Her  sick-room  seemed  to  her  ''  like  the  very 
temple  of  God,  and  her  bed  an  altar /^  Her  soul  was 
elated  with  a  buoyant  hope.  She  was  not  simply  will- 
ing to  go,  but  jubilant  in  view  of  the  heavenly  glory. 
Jesus  was  to  her  faith  ^'  The  Resurrection  and  the  Life," 
and  she  was  glad  to  entrust  herself  and  her  dearest 
friends  to  his  wonderful  keeping. 

She  has  left  us.  Do  notlet  us  say  that  her  life  was 
incomplete,  for  in  the  light  which  streams  from  the 
sacred  page,  we  see  that  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as 
an  unfinished  Christian  life. 

My  brother  !  I  think  I  have  some  true  sympathy  for 
you,  but  just  because  it  is  true  it  will  find  some  more 
fitting  place  than  this  to  express  itself. 

Oliug  to  the  Cross  !  and  forget  not  that  *^a  full  hand 
has  the  loosest  grasp,  and  withered  tendrils  cling  closer 
than  the  green." 

The  Lord  lift  up  his  countenance  upon  thee  and  give 
thee  peace !    Amen. 


**  'Tis  past  !  'tis  past  !  but  I  gaze  on  it  now 
With  quivering  breath  and  throbbing  brow  : 
'Twas  there  she  nursed  me — 'twas  there  she  died, 
And  memory  flowed  with  lava  tide — 
Say  it  is  folly  and  deem  me  weak, 
While  the  scalding  tears  run  down  ray  cheek. 
But  I  love  it— I  love  it,  and  cannot  tear 
My  soul  from  my  mother's  old  arm-chair." 


40(  MEMOUtAL     TR1BVTE8, 


A   FIREMAN. 

THE  LAST  FIRE. 
ON  THE  DEATH  OF  MR.  BRAID  WOOD, 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  THE  LONDON  FIRE  BRIGADE. 

JOHN   CUMMI^^Ct,    D.  D. 

IN  THE  SCOTCH  NATIONAL  CHURCH,    LONDON. 

Seeing^  then,  that  all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved,  what  manner  of  per' 
sons  ought  ye  to  he  hi  all  hohj  conversation  and  godliness. — 3  Pet.  iii:  1. 

T  DO  not  intend  to  pass  eulogiums  on  those  that  are 
^  gone,  but  simply,  practically  and  plainly,  to  illus- 
trate facts  that  have  occupied  a  place,  and  stirred  the 
souls,  and  awakened  interest  in  almost  every  inhabitant 
of  London. 

''  All  things,"  infidelity  observed  of  old,  "must  con- 
tinue as  they  have  been  from  the  beginning."  It  needs 
but  common  sense,  and  a  fair  and  impartial  survey  of 
our  world,  to  come  to  a  very  opposite  conclusion.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  world  permanent  but  what  belongs  to 
heaven.  Change,  deterioration,  or  improvement  is  the 
experience  of  every  man. 

There  are  evidences  of  change  taking  place  everywhere. 
On  the  great  earth  itself  a  vast  change  will  take  place. 
Just  as  tliere  was  a  flood,  we  are  told,  so  a  day  will  come, 
when  the  Lord  "will  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night,"  (un- 
expectedly) "in  which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with 
a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent 
heat  ;  the  earth  also,  and  the  works  that  are  therein 
shall  be  burned  up."  I  always  rejoice  to  quote  science, 
not  to  authenticate  the  Bible,  which  would  be  absurd, 
but  because  it  is  always  refreshing  to  be  able  to  quote 
science  as  elucidating  and  bearing  out  the  exact  minute 
accuracy  of  the   Bible.     We  are  told  in  the  7th  verse  of 


MrsCELLANEOrrS,  401 

this  cliapfcer,  *'  the  heavens  and  the  earth  which  are  now 
by  the  same  word  are  kept  in  store,  reserved  unto  fire 
against  the  day  of  judgment  and  perdition  of  un- 
godly men/'  Literally  translated,  '^stored  with  fire  are 
reserved  unto  judgment."  What  a  thought  is  that !  A 
core  of  fire  in  a  crust  of  deposits  composed  of  dead  fos- 
sils, the  remains  of  extinguished  and  buried  dynasties 
constitutes  the  strong  earth  on  which  we  tread. 

The  flood  annihilated  nothing ;  it  changed,  it 
desolated,  it  deteriorated,  but  it  destroyed,  or  an- 
nihilated nothing.  What  is  the  law  that  every  scien- 
tific man  knows  ?  Fire  destroys  nothing ;  it  makes 
matter  enter  into  new  combinations.  It  was  found 
in  that  great  conflagration  which  seemed  to  be  per- 
mitted just  to  teach  us  what  a  precarious  tenure  after 
all  is  our  wealth,  our  greatness,  our  property,  that  the 
fire  took  the  iron,  the  stone,  the  metal,  the  silver,  every- 
thing that  was  there,  and  threw  them  into  new  com- 
binations, but  it  annihilated  nothing.  So  I  believe 
the  last  baptismal  fire  that  shall  wrap  this  earth  in  its 
flame  shroud,  will  destroy  nothing  but  sin,  imperfection, 
decay,  and  that  everything  that  God  has  made,  every- 
thing that  Christ  has  redeemed  shall  emerge  frem  that 
baptism  more  beautiful,  more  glorious,  and  more  radiant 
than  before. 

This  last  fire  may  change  the  structure  of  things. 
That  fire  invariably  does.  The  most  precious  manu- 
scripts have  perished  in  the  flames — paintings,  each  of 
which  would  be  an  estate,  have  perished  in  the  flames — 
sculptures,  the  admiration  of  ages,  have  been  calcined  in 
the  flames — and  as  we  saw  warehouses  where  two  millions 
and-a-half  of  property  were  stored,  have  been  reduced  to 
ashes,  and  rendered  utterly  and  for  ever  worthless — a 
rehearsal  on  a  small  scale  of  what  will  one  day  be 
universal.     This  is  not  my  statement,  I  am  but  the  echo 


402  MEMORIAL     TRIBUfES. 

of  the  voice  of  Peter.  We  had  a  faint  foreshadow  of 
that  last  great  conflagration,  when  we  saw  the  Thames 
glow  as  if  it  were  molten  brass — Avhen  the  flames  seemed 
in  their  awful  and  mad  ecstacy  as  if  they  were  living 
things,  and  rose  and  laughed  at  the  mightiest  efforts  of 
the  mightiest  master  who  had  ever  laid  his  hand  on 
them  and  made  them  still,  and  triumphed  over  all  his 
efforts  to  oppose  their  fury,  and  to  save  the  property — 
and  the  property  would  be  nothing  but  for  the  life  that 
accompanied  it — until  all  perished  in  the  flames.  But 
v/hat  will  this  be — what  will  these  burning  warehouses 
be — what  will  be  the  burning  of  the  Parliament  Houses 
— of  the  Royal  Exchange — of  our  next  door  neighbor, 
Covent  Garden  Theatre — what  will  all  combined  be 
when  compared  with  this  world^s  last  fire  !  when  this 
earth  shall  be  in  a  white  heat,  with  a  blazing  atmos- 
phere, with  melting  rocks,  with  dissolving  metals,  and 
with  detonations,  such  as  have  never  yet  been  heard,  a 
picture  of  terrific  grandeur,  such  as  we  have  never  yet 
seen  ? 

But  let  me  now  take  the  bright  side  of  the  picture. 
The  last  fire  that  burns  our  orb,  and  sets  fire  to  our 
atmosphere,  cannot,  dare  not,  may  not  touch  the 
humblest  Christian's  immortal  soul.  The  humblest 
Christian  is  safe  there.  The  flame  dare  not  enter  the 
sacred  chancel  where  the  soul  is.  It  can  laugh  at  the 
drawn  dagger.  It  can  defy  the  spear  point  also.  It 
triumphs  over  all  that  dares  or  attempts  to  assail  it : — 

*'The  stars  shall  fade  away,  the  sua  himself 
Grow  dim  with  age,  and  nature  sink  in  years  : 
But  it  shall  flourish  in  eternal  j^outh 
Unhurt  amidst  the  war  of  elements, 
The  wreck  of  matter,  and  the  crush  of  worlds  I" 

It  cannot  be  annihilated.     The  poorest  Christian  in  this 


MISCELLANEO  US.  ^^'^ 

lisscmbly  has  a  soul  that  is  fire-proof^  and  flood-proof, 
and  death-proof,  because  it  has  been  sprinkled  with  the 
precious  blood,  and  clothed  with  the  glorious  righteous- 
ness of  tlie  Son  of  God  ! 

And  in  the  next  place,  the  last  fire  will  not  even 
destroy  a  Christian's  body.  It  may  be  crushed  by  the 
falling  of  the  walls  of  a  broken  up  world,  it  may,  as 
many  a  brave  soldier's  has  been,  be  torn  into  pieces  and 
buried  beneath  the  green  sods  of  the  Crimea,  or  under 
the  burning  sands  of  India — and  many  families  in  this 
counti-y,  and  not  a  few  in  this  congregation,  have  links 
that  knit  them  to  the  burning  sands  of  India — but  not 
one  atom  of  that  body  will  ever  perish.  You  say,  how 
can  what  has  been  burned  in  the  fire,  what  has  been 
torn  in  pieces,  or  lost  in  the  sea,  be  discovered  ?  I 
answer,  if  a  chemist,  when  a  person  has  been  poisoned, 
can  follow  and  hunt  that  poison  into  every  retreat  into 
which  it  can  go,  and  can  produce  it  before  a  Judge  and 
Jury,  will  not  the  great  Chemist  of  the  universe  be  able 
to  trace  out  every  stray  atom  of  every  disintegrated 
frame,  and  he  who  said,  ^'let  there  be  light,  and  there 
was  light, '''  has  only  to  say,  "let  xYbney  Park  Cemetery 
restore  the  crushed  dead''  we  laid  in  it,  amid  the 
sympathies  of  hundreds  of  thousands  yesterday,  and 
every  atom  of  that  dust  will  be  restored,  and  the  grave 
shall  open,  that  face  shr.ll  be  seen  again,  that  voice  will 
be  heard  again,  that  noble  and  manly  form  shall  be 
visible  again,  and  then  shall  be  said,  "  0  death,  where  is 
thy  sting  ?  6  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?" 

That  last  baptismal  fire  will  not  destroy  one  good 
deed  you  have  done  for  Christ's  sake.  People  are  so  fond 
in  the  present  day  of  building  beautiful  churches — and 
there  is  nothing  so  beautiful — but  I  believe  if  we  had 
more  common  sense  we  should  think  less  of  building 
beautiful  churches  and  more  of  collecting  living  stones 


404  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

to  build  a  living  cluircli,  whose  foundation  is  the  Rock 
of  Ages.  A  cup  of  cold  water  that  you  have  given  to  a 
poor  thirsty  widow — a  visit  you  have  paid  to  a  mourner, 
sitting  under  the  shadow  of  death — the  sympathy  you 
have  expressed — the  help  you  have  given  to  a  poor  rag- 
ged boy  or  girl,  to  educate,  to  cheer,  to  help  them  on 
the  rough,  hard  way  of  life — these  shall  survive  the  last 
fire,  and  they  shall  be  mentioned  at  that  day,  when  the 
very  words  shall  be  music  indeed — 'inasmuch  as  ye  did 
it  unto  the  least  of  these  my  little  ones,  ye  did  it  unto 
me.'^ 

My  dear  friends,  these  are  your  noblest  glory.  Let 
your  ornaments  not  be  the  beautiful  things  of  this  world, 
but  those  imperishable  things  which  the  fire  cannot  con- 
sume, which  death  cannot  destroy,  which  will  be  repro- 
duced at  the  great  white  throne,  not  as  merits — God 
forbid — not  as  your  claims — '^  Blessed  are  the  dead  that 
die  in  the  Lord."  Their  happiness  is  because  "  they  die 
in  the  Lord,"*^  then  it  is  added,  not  that  their  works  go 
before  them,  but  their  works  do  follow  them. 

And  my  dear  friends,  let  me  here  say  where  death 
finds  us  is  of  very  little  consequence,  or  at  what  time  we 
die,  is  of  very  little  consequence,  if  we  live  and  die  in 
Christ.  That^s  the  main  thing.  I  don't  believe  there's 
the  least  accident  in  anything  that  befalls  us.  I  don't 
believe  in  chance  at  all.  "  I  believe  in  God  the  Fjithor 
Almighty,  maker  of  heaven  and  earth."  You've  often 
heard  me  say,  when  trying  to  comfort  those  who  had 
relatives  in  the  far-distant  fields  of  battle,  that  "  every 
bullet  has  its  billet,"  and  when  that  calamity  occurred 
the  other  day,  that  swept  away  perhaps  one  of  the  most 
useful  members  of  this  Church,  there  was  no  chance 
there.  The  scythe  was  peculiar,  but  the  wheat  was  ripe 
for  the  master's  garner.  He  who  has  gone,  I  am  sure 
was  ripe.     In  our  committees  connected  with  our  schools, 


MISCELLANEOUS.  405 

ragged  schools,  day  schools,  Sunday  schools,  his  pres- 
ence was  welcomed  by  all  his  brethren,  and  his  com- 
bination of  good  sense,  of  true  piety,  of  thorough 
efiSciency  were  such  that  I  fear  we  shall  not  soon  see  his 
like  again.  But  wiiat  is  lost  to  the  Church  below  we 
rejoice  to  say  has  gone  to  the  Church  above,  and  instead 
of  speaking  and  specuhiting  about  the  past,  and  what 
cannot  be  recalled,  let  us  draw  the  inference — "  What 
manner  of  persons  ought  we  to  be  in  all  holy  conversa- 
tion and  godliness." 

The  ranks  of  our  congregation  have  been  thinned  by 
translations  to  the  skies.  Fill  up  the  ranks.  Many  sol- 
diers are  now  listening  to  me.  "  You  know  that  when  a 
comrade  falls  the  rest  must  close  up,  and  those  to  whom 
the  battle  is  bequeathed  must  act  with  the  greater  energy. 
We  are  surrounded  by  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses.  You 
will  not  think  me  superstitious  when  I  say  that  tlie  spirit 
of  our  departed  brother  may  be  the  spectator  of  those 
that  are  left  behind,  and  if  so,  if  one  wave  of  bliss  can 
rise  from  so  poor  a  place  to  so  rich  a  heritage — it  will  be 
to  hear  that  you  have  taken  up  with  greater  zeal  and 
greater  energy  the  good  workiji  which  our  brethren,  who 
have  gone  before,  have  been  so  usefully  employed.  I 
have  read  in  the  stories  of  my  country — and  I  for  one 
hope  its  ancient  traditions  will  never  be  forgotten — that 
one  day,  in  a  great  battle,  the  chief  of  one  of  the  pow- 
erful clans  of  the  Highlands,  fell  back,  and  lay  on  his 
side.  The  blood  ebbed  from  him,  and  his  clansmen 
thought  he  was  killed,  and  they  began  to  fall  back  dis- 
heartened— and  you  know  that,  be  it  a  regiment  or  a  fire 
brigade,  let  the  chief  fall,  how  faint  are  all  hearts,  how 
feeble  are  all  arms — raising  himself,  with  the  blood  ebb- 
ing from  him,  upon  his  elbow  on  the  green  turf  where 
he  had  fallen,  as  his  countrymen  always  fall,  with  his 
back  to  the  field  and  his  feet  to  the  foe,  he  said^   '^Maq- 


400  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

donald,  I'm  not  dead,  but  Fm  watching  how  my  children 
fight."  My  dear  friends,  the  great  captain  of  the  brigade 
is  not  dead,  but  is  watching  us,  his  children,  and  seeing 
how  they  walk  worthy  of  those  "  who  by  faith  have 
inherited  the  promises/' 


A  FISHERMAN. 

READY  ?    OR   NOT   READY  ? 
REV.    ALBERT   BIBBT. 

PREACHED  AT  A  SEAPORT  TOWN,  ON  OCCASION    OF  THE  FUNERAL  OF  A  FISHER- 
MAN WHO  HAD  BEEN  DROWNED,  AND  BEFORE   MANY  OF  THE  SAME  CRAFT. 

"  Beye  therefore  ready  also :  for  the  Son  of  Man  cometh  at  an  hour 
when  ye  think  not." — Luke  xii  :  40. 

^PHESE  words  occur  at  the  end  of  a  very  solemn  sermon 
preached  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  a  numerous  con- 
gregation ;  for  we  read—'*  There  were  gathered  together 
an  innumerable  muliitiide  of  people,  insomuch  that  they 
trode  one  upon  another."  If  you  read  the  chapter  care- 
fully, you  will  be  able  to  trace  the  various  links  in  the 
chain  of  thought. 

These  words  demand  from  us  more  than  ordinary  at- 
tention. God  speaks  to  men  in  two  ways,  through  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  by  his  dealings  with  men.  When 
a  friend  or  relative  dies,  we  feel  it  is  the  voice  of  God 
calling  to  us  to  prepare  to  meet  Him.  And  has  not  God 
been  speaking  to  us,  my  brethren  ?  Only  eight  days  ago 
a  respectable  fisherman,  well  known  to  most  of  you,  left 
his  wife  and  three  children  at  home  and  went  forth  in  his 
little  boat  to  gather  from  the  deep  those  treasures  which 
it  had  often  yielded  to  his  industry,  and  which  afforded 
him  his  daily  bread.  The  day  passed  swiftly  on,  and  the 
JittJe  boat  and  its  owner  came  not  at  the  usual  hour  of 


MISCELLANEOUS.  407 

returning.  Sad  fears  began  to  chill  the  hearts  of  that  mo- 
ther and  her  little  ones.  The  dieary  hours  dragged  slowly 
on,  and  fears  grew  into  anguish  and  distraction,  only  to 
be  succeeded  by  the  heart-rending  certainty,  that  the 
wife  had  become  a  widow  :  for  her  little  ones  were 
fatherk-ss.  We  are  told  to  ''  weep  with  them  that  weep  ;" 
and  there  should  be  no  heart  among  us  that  does  not 
sympathize  with  the  afflicted  family.  It  is  not,  however, 
a  solitary  case.  Within  the  last  twelve  months  three 
times  has  such  an  event  happened  ;  three  times  it  has 
been  whispered  in  our  streets,  ''A  man  is  drowned  f  three 
times  the  report  has  proved  a  fact ;  three  times  has 
death  visited  us  in  this  unusual  way.  Death  has  not 
stopped  only  at  the  lowly  cottages  of  the  poor.  I  ask 
you  solemnly  to  consider  these  dealings  of  the  Lord  with 
ourselves  as  inhabitants  of  this  parish,  and  then  say  if 
you  do  not  feel  God  is  speaking  to  us,  te  each  of  us,  to 
young,  to  old,  to  rich  and  poor  ?  If  there  is  one  class 
amongst  us  to  which  God  speaks  more  particularly,  it  is 
to  the  fishermen  and  sailors.  Does  not  God  seem  to  say 
to  us — "  Behold,  three  I  have  taken  away  from  you  ;  be 
ye  therefore  ready  also  ;  for  the  Son  of  Man  cometh  at 
an  hour  when  ye  think  not  ?'' 

I.  The  lesson  is,  that  Jesus  Christ  will  come  again. 
We  are  taught  this  in  those  words — ''  For  the  Son  of 
Man  cometh.^' 

When,  however,  Christ  next  comes,  it  will  be  in  His 
glorious  majesty.  Nor  wiU  he  come  for  the  same  pur- 
pose as  at  the  first.  Then  He  came  to  procure  salvation  ; 
when  He  next  appears,  it  will  be  to  inquire  who  amongst 
men  have  sought  His  salvation  and  accepted  His  offers, 
and  to  pronounce  sentence  accordingly.  When  Christ 
came  the  first  time,  only  a  few  saw  His  real  dignity  and 
character ;  when  he  comes  the  second  time,  His  glorious 
maj(^sty  and  power  will  force   themselves  on  the   atteu- 


408  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES, 

tion  of  all.  There  will  be  a  little  flock  who  love  his 
appearing.  But  what  frightful  consternation  will 
there  be  among  those  who  cared  not  to  be  found  ready! 
AVhat  terror,  dismay  and  anguish  will  seize  them  as  they 
behold  the  Son  of  Man  coming  !  Thus  is  that  awful 
moment  described  in  God's  Word — ^'^  And  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  &c."  (Revelation  vi:  15-17.)  In  that  day 
every  secret  shall  be  made  known,  every  hidden  deed 
brought  to  light. 

II.  Christ  will  come  when  we  do  not  expect  him.  ' '  For 
the  Son   of  man  cometh  at  an  hour  wlien  ye  think  not." 

In  the  scripture  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  is 
compared  to  a  flash  of  lightning,  or  the  coming  of  a  thief 
in  the  night.  In  this  way  we  are  taught  its  suddenness. 
It  will  find  the  world  generally  unprepared  ;  for  thus  it 
is  declared  concerning  that  day  in  the  Holy  Scripture — 
^*  And  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Noe,"  &c. — (Luke  xvii  : 
26-30.)  As  the  flood  came  when  men  though  not,  so 
will  '^  the  Son  of  Man  come  at  an  hour  when  ye  think 
not." 

Do  not  such  instances  as  those  I  have  alluded  to  sol- 
emnly tell  each  of  us  we  ^^know  not  at  what  hour  the 
Son  of  Man  cometh  ?"  This  last  case  was  that  of  a  young 
man  not  yet  thirty  years  of  age.  In  the  morning  he 
left  his  house  and  family,  probably  with  no  more  serious 
thought  of  not  seeing  them  again  than  any  of  you  had 
on  coming  here;  before  the  night  closed  in,  the  cold 
waves  were  rolling  over  his  lifeless  body. 

III.  We  now  proceed  to  notice,  thirdly,  the  necessity 
of  being  prepared  to  meet  our  God  when  He  cometh.  In 
the  language  of  the  text  it  is  thus  expressed — ''  Be  ye 
therefore  ready." 

It  is  the  same  as  saying,  ''Because  you  must  stand 
before  the  judgment-seat,  and  may  be  called  to  do  so  at 
any  hour  of  any  day,  take  care  and  be  prepared.  Be  ready 


MISCELLANEOUS.  409 

to  meet  God  everyday."  Remember,  too,  that  these  are 
the  words  of  Christ. 

And  this  will  lead  us  to  inquire,  What  is  meant  by 
being  ready  for  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  ?  In  other 
words  our  inquiry  is.  Who  is  prepared  to  die  ? 

First,  Are  you  for  given  9 

All  men  need  forgiveness,  because  all  men  are  sinners. 
Sinners  we  are  born,  and  sinners  we  have  been  all  our  lives. 
There  is  not  a  commandment  which  we  have  not  broken. 

2.  Are  you  holy  ? 

Scripture  says,  "  Without  holiness  no  man  can  see 
the  Lord."  To  be  holy  is  to  have  a  mind  like  God — 
that  is,  to  love  what  He  loves,  and  to  hate  what  He  hates. 
A  holy  man  will  endeavor  to  shun  every  known  sin,  and 
to  keep  every  known  commandment.  He  will  feel  Just 
what  Paul  felt  when  he  said,  '*  I  delight  in  the  law  of 
God,  after  the  inward  man."  By  means  of  prayer  made 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  efforts  made  in  reliance  upon 
the  grace  of  Christ,  the  Christian  will  be  able  to  over- 
come the  solicitations  to  sin  which  surround  him  on 
every  side,  and  lurk  in  every  corner  of  his  heart. 

Fishermen  I  for  many  hours  almost  every  day  you 
are  separated  from  a  watery  grave  only  by  a  few  inches 
of  board  :  do  you  ever  think,  that  without  holiness  you 
cannot  see  the  Lord  ?  Of  some  few  of  you  there  is  a 
hope  that  you  do  ;  but  of  a  very  large  number  there  is, 
at  present,  no  hope  at  all.  Do  not  say  this  is  unchari- 
table ;  God  says,  "By  their  fruits  3^0  shall  know  them;" 
and  by  swearing,  by  drunkenness,  by  lascivious  conduct 
and  conversation,  by  bickering  and  dishonest  dealing,  by 
the  neglect  of  the  Sabbath,  by  idleness  and  disregard  of 
your  families,  too  many  declare,  as  plainly  as  if  they  said 
it  in  so  many  words,  that  they  are  the  servants  of  the 
devil,  and  not  of  God.  And  some  wlio  are  more  decent 
\Xi  their  conduct  at  home,  leave  all  their  care  of  the  Sab- 


410  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

bath  behind  them,  when  they  go  to  fish  elsewhere.  In 
a  few  weeks  you  will  again  be  leaving,  and  exposed  to  the 
same  temptation.  Let  me  intreat  you  wherever  you 
may  be,  to  leave  your  nets  on  the  Sunday  and  follow 
Christ  by  worshipping  Him  in  His  house. 


A  MEEE  PROFESSOR. 

LESSONS  FROM  THE  LIFE  AND   END   OF   JUDAS   ISCARIOT. 

REV.  WILLIAM   S.  PLUME R,   D.D.,  LL.D. 

*'lt  had  been  good  for  that  man  if  he  had  not  been  born.'^ — 
]\lATTnEW  xxvi :   24. 

OUCH  is  the  alarming  and  astounding  language  of  the 
^  Lord  Jesus  Christ  respecting  one  of  his  disciples 
and  apostles.  The  Messiah  needed  not  that  any  should 
testify  to  him  of  man  ;  for  he  knew  w^hat  was  in  man. 
He  searches  the  hearts  and  reins.  He  declares  the  end 
from  the  beginning.  ^'' Jesus  knew  from  the  beginning 
who  they  were  that  believe  not,  and  who  should  betray 
him."  Christ's  ministers  are  often  deceived  ;  Christ, 
never.  He  knows  all  things.  He  never  was  overreached. 
His  eyes  are  as  flaming  fire.  He  easily  detects  the  most 
specious  pretenses.  He  knoAvs  all  men,  all  hearts,  all 
destinies. 

The  person  here  spoken  of  is  Judas,  whose  surname 
is  Iscariot.  Let  us  consider  the  life  and  end  of  him  of 
whom  the  words  of  the  text  were  spoken. 

1.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Judas  Iscariot  was  a 
man  of  bad  countenance.  Most  men  arc  much  influenced 
by  looks,  and  many  think  they  can  tell  a  man's  character 
by  the  physiognomy.  This  may  often  be  true  ;  but 
there  are  many  exceptions. 

2.  There  is  no  evidence  that,  up  to  his  betrayal  of  liis 
Lord,  his  conduct  was  the  subject  of  censure,  complaint. 


MISCh:LLANEOUS.  41 1 

jealousy,  or  of  the  slightest  suspicion.  Until  the  night 
when  he  committed  the  traitorous  deed,  his  reputation 
seems  to  have  been  fair,  and  Avithout  the  shadow  of  a 
blemish.  He  was  not  ambitious,  as  James  and  John  on 
one  occasion  were.  lie  was  free  from  the  characteristic 
rashness  of  Peter.  His  sins  Avere  all  concealed  from  the 
eyes  of  mortals.  He  was  a  thief  ;  l)ut  that  was  known 
only  to  Omniscience. 

3.  There  is  no  evidence  that,  dui-ing  his  continuance 
with  Christ,  he  regarded  himself  as  a  hypocrite.  Doubt- 
less he  thought  himself  honest.  He  knew  no  other  kind 
of  sincerity  than  that  which  he  possessed.  He  may  have 
had  solemn  and  joyful  feelings  under  the  preaching 
of  Christ.  He  may  have  had  very  awful  and  tender 
thoughts  when  he  himself  was  i)rcLiching.  Such  is  man's 
self-ignorance,  that  it  is  probable  not  one  in  ten  thou- 
sand, who  are  hypocrites,  firmly  believe  that  such  is  their 
character.  Nay,  it  commonly  hajopens,  that  the  worse 
men  are,  the  better  they  think  ihemsclves  to  be. 

The  first  mention  made  of  this  man  is  entirely  cred- 
itable to  him.  He  is  introduced  to  us  as  one  of  the 
twelve,  whom  Christ  chose  as  disciples  and  confidential 
friends,  to  be  with  him  and  heurhis  instructions,both  pub- 
lic and  private.  We  are  not  lold  that  Christ  ever  availed 
himself  on  the  absence  of  Judas  to  make  any  communi- 
cations to  the  eleven,  until  the  night  of  his  betrayal. 

The  Lord  ordained  him  with  the  other  eleven  to  the 
ofiice  and  Avork  of  an  apostle.  Since  the  birth  of  Christ 
this  is  the  highest  office  to  which  any  mortal  could  at- 
tain. The  gifts  requisite  for  the  performance  of  its 
duties  were  extraordinary  and  miraculous.  They  belong 
to  no  man  now  living.  The  proofs  of  an  apostle  were 
in  signs,  and  wonders,  and  mighty  deeds.     .     . 

The  next  account  we  have  of  Judas  respects  his  ap- 
parent regard  for  the  poor.     When  the  ajffectionate  Mary 


412  MEMORIAL      TRIBVTES. 

anointed  the  feet  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  Judas  was  there. 
Being  treasurer  of  Christ's  family,  and  acting  without 
auditors,  he  had  dishonestly  used  some  of  the  funds  for 
his  own  private  purposes.     Hence  he  is  called  ^'a  thief.'* 

When  Judas  went  to  the  chief  priest,  he  piuijably 
expected  to  obtain  several  thousand  pieces  of  silver,  and 
thought  thus  to  make  his  fortune.  Possibly  he  intended 
to  get  his  money,  fulfill  his  bargain,  and  put  his  Master 
into  their  hands;  but  expected  Christ  immediately  to 
deliver  himself  out  of  their  power.  Thus  the  traitor 
would  have  become  a  swindler. 

The  bargain  being  made,  the  difficulty  with  Judas 
now  was  to  fulfil]  his  part  of  it.  ''  And  from  that  time 
he  souglit  opportunity  to  betray  him."  Wickedness  is 
troublesome.  Probably  Judas  gave  frequent  as^surances 
of  fidelity  in  his  covenant  with  the  Jews,  and  would  have 
pretended  to  be  grossly  insulted  if  any  had  charged  him 
with  a  design  of  fraud.  Sin  fearfully  blinds  tlie  mind, 
and  hardens  the  heart.  The  devil  seems  now  to  have 
had  full  possession  of  Judas.  He  took  no  time,  he  had 
no  heart  for  reflection.  He  may  have  kept  up  some  form 
of  prayer,  but  there  was  no  sincerity  in  Ijim  or  his  devo- 
tions. .  .  . 

The  aggravations  of  the  sin  of  betraying  Christ  were 
many  and  great.  The  traitor  was  eminent  in  place,  in 
gifts,  in  office,  in  professsion  ;  a  guide  to  others,  and  one 
whose  example  was  likely  to  influence  many,  and  if  evil, 
to  give  great  occasion  to  the  enemy  to  speak  reproach- 
fully. His  sin  had  for  its  object  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
It  was  an  attack  on  God  himself. 

This  subject  is  full  of  instruction,  and  teaches  many 
salutary  lessons.  Let  us  not  so  far  separate  ourselves 
from  Judas  as  to  suppose  that  we  are  naturally  better 
than  he,  or  that  if  left  to  ourselves  we  will  not  prove 
that  we  are  veady  for  any  deed  of  wickedness,     A  monster 


of  depravity  was  he.  Bat  all  sin  is  horrible.  And  God 
would  have  us  learn  wisdom  from  the  fall  of  the  worst 
men  in  the  world.  Thus  we  may  profit  by  the  overthrow 
of  the  most  infamous. 

From  the  history  of  Judas  we  learn,  that  when  a 
man  is  once  fairly  started  in  a  career  of  wickedness,  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  where  he  will  stop,  God^s  grace  may 
arrest  one  in  the  maddest  career,  as  it  did  Saul  of  Tarsus. 
But  left  to  himself,  man  will  dig  into  hell.  The  good 
providence  of  God  mercifully  restrains  even  the  wicked, 
else  existence  on  earth  would  not  be  desirable.  Scenes 
of  violence  and  blood,  deeds  of  outrage  and  atrocity, 
words  of  hatred  and  blasphemy,  and  looks  of  fierceness 
and  terror  would  appall  us  every  hour,  but  that  God  lays 
his  almighty  hand  upon  the  hearts  of  men  and  com- 
mands them  to  be  still.  Unrestrained,  every  heart  would 
show  its  possessor  a  monster  of  wickedness.  Passions, 
which  now  lie  smothered,  would,  if  let  loose,  rage  and 
sweep  everything  before  them.  Natural  affection,  the 
voice  of  conscience,  public  opinion,  regard  to  reputation, 
and  fear  of  the  law,  are  hapily  employed  by  providence 
to  hold  men  back. 

All  men  should  especially  beware  of  covetousness. 
"  The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil :  which  while 
some  coveted  after,  they  have  erred  from  the  faith,  and 
pierced  themselves  through  with  many  sorrows."  (1 
Tim.  vi  :  10.)  Of  the  truth  of  this  teaching  Judas  was 
a  fearful  witness.  No  tongue,  no  pen  can  describe  the 
sorrows  which  rolled  over  his  soul.  "When  men  are 
eagerly  heaping  up  riches,  they  are  doing  work  for  bitter 
repentance  in  this  world,  or  in  that  which  is  to  come. 
Even  on  earth  ^^the  covetous  man  heaps  up  riches,  not 
to  enjoy  them,  but  to  have  them  ;  and  starves  himself  in 
the  midst  of  plenty ;  and  most  unnaturally  cheats  and 
robs  himself  of  that  which  is  his  (  \vn  ;  .-nid  niake.s  a  hard 


4  i  4  MEMO  RTA  L     TRTB  UTE.^. 

sliift  to  be  as  poor  and  miserable  with  a  great  estate  fls 
any  man  can  be  withont  it/' 

Oh  !  that  men  wonki  hear  the  warning  words  of 
Richard  Baxter:  "Use  sin  as  it  will  nse  3^011;  spare  it 
not,  for  it  will  not  spare  you;  it  is  your  murderer  and 
the  murderer  of  the  world.  Use  it,  therefore,  as  a 
murderer  should  be  used.  Kill  it  before  it  kills  you  ; 
and  though  it  kill  your  bodies,  it  shall  not  be  able  to 
kill  your  souls.^' 

Nor  should  we  forget  that  character  may  as  well  be 
learned  from  small  as  from  great  things.  Judas'  petty 
larceny  was  as  good  an  index  to  his  character  as  his 
treason.  A  straw  will  show  which  way  the  wind  blows. 
Human  character  is  not  made  up  of  a  few  great  acts,  but 
of  a  multitude  of  little  things.  Every-day  conduct 
shows  tlie  man.  Great  events,  in  which  wt  are  actors, 
will  fully  expose  us,  if  in  small  aifairs  we  are  unable  to 
act  well.  "\iQ  that  contemneth  small  things  shall  fall  by 
little  and  little."  (Eccles.  xix:l.)  The  failure  of  our 
virtue  on  great  occasions  is  but  an  announcement  to  the 
woi'ld  that  we  have  been  habitually  coming  short  in  our 
more  private  behavior.  Little  rills  form  the  greatest 
rivers.  The  ocean  itself  is  made  up  of  drops  of  rain  or  par- 
ticles of  mist..  A  man  is  what  his  habits  make  him.  He 
who  can  not  resist  a  slight  temptation  will  never  gain 
the  mastery  over  a  grievous  one. 

It  is  also  manifest  that  bad  men  may  for  a  long  time 
appear  well.  To  do  so  may  cost  them  trouble,  but  may 
still  be  practicable.  Through  life  they  may  have  such  a 
fear  of  exi)0sure,  and  be  so  studious  of  appearances,  as 
to  deceive  all  around  them.  Even  suspicion  may  not 
soil  their  fair  name,  and  yet  they  may  be  in  the  gall  of 
btiterness.  Eschewing  the  devices  of  the  debauched, 
they  may  practice  the  sins  of  devils.  It  is  true  that  this 
class  of  transgressors  have  a  hard  task.     They  are  always 


MrsOKLLANh'O  Ub\  415 

like  one  who  has  a  rent  in  his  garment,  which  he  finds 
difficult  to  conceal.  A  life  ot  deception  is  full  of  hard- 
ship and  uncertainty  ;  and  ab  its  close,  when  amendment 
is  impossible,  the  truth  comes  out,  and  in  a  moment 
damnation  flashes  in  the  face,  and  the  poor  soul  enters 
on  an  existence  full  of  misery.  When  God  tears  away 
the  mask,  disguise  is  no  longer  possible.      *     =»•     * 

How  small  a  temptation  to  sin  will  at  last  prevail 
over  a  vicious  mind.  For  less  than  twenty  dollars,  Judas 
sold  his  Lord  and  Master.  Those  temptations  commonly 
esteemed  great  are  not  the  most  sure  to  prevail.  The 
ribaldry  of  the  Philistines  did  not  move  Samson  from 
his  fidelity,  but  the  blandishments  of  Delilah  overcame 
him.  Esau  sold  his  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 
Many  a  man  consents  to  lose  a  friend  for  his  wit,  yea,  to 
lose  his  soul  for  a  quibble.  Men  may  sin  until  the  mere 
force  of  habit,  without  any  apparent  inducement,  seems 
sufficient  to  impel  them  to  great  enormities. 

Nothing  prepares  a  man  faster  for  destruction  than 
hypocrisy  or  formality  in  actions  of  a  religious  nature. 
The  three  years  which  Judas  spent  in  the  family  of  our 
Lord  probably  exceeded  all  the  rest  of  his  life  in  ripen- 
ing him  for  destruction.  So  many,  so  solemn,  so  impres- 
sive truths  were  presented  to  his  mind,  that  he  must 
have  become  very  rai)idly  hardened. 

It  is  a  small  matter  to  be  judged  of  man^s  judgment. 
The  judgment  of  God,  it  shall  stand  ;  it  is  righteous,  it 
is  always  according  to  truth.  Man  judges  of  the  heart 
by  appearances.  God  judges  of  appearances  by  the  heart, 
and  he  judges  of  the  heart  by  itself.  The  tribunal,  from 
which  there  lies  no  appeal,  will  reverse  a  vast  number  of 
decisions  made  by  the  tribunals  of  earth.  Public  opinion 
often  errs.  Individual  judgments  are  as  often  erroneous. 
If  men  condemn  and  God  approves,  all  is  well.     But  if 


4ie  Memorial    TmBtjrm. 

men  acquit  and  God  condemns,  all  is  lost.  He  tliat 
judgeth  us  is  the  Lord. 

We  should  never  forget  that  official  character  is  one 
thing,  and  moral  character  another  thing.  All  official 
characters  may  be  sustained  without  any  real  grace  in 
the  heart.  Balaam^s  prophecies  were  as  true  and  as  sub- 
lime as  those  of  Moses  or  Isaiah.  So  far  as  we  know, 
Judas^  performance  of  the  duties  of  the  apostolic  mission 
was  as  acceptable  and  as  useful  as  that  of  the  majority 
of  his  brethren.  Even  success  in  preaching  is  not  proof 
of  piety.  It  is  the  message,  not  the  messenger ;  the 
truth  preached,  and  not  the  man  who  utters  it,  that  con- 
verts the  soul.  Piety  is  of  infinite  importance  to  every 
soul  of  man  ;  but  a  man  who  has  no  piety  may  yet  do 
good. 

The  history  of  Judas  shows  us  how  man  will  cling  to 
false  hopes.  Hypocrites  hold  fast  their  delusive  expec- 
tations with  the  utmost  tenacity.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  during  years  of  hypocrisy  Judas  ever  seriously 
doubted  his  own  piety.  There  were  many  sure  marks, 
indeed,  against  him  ;  but  what  cares  any  hypocrite  for 
evidence  ?  His  own  blind  confidence  is  to  him  more 
powerful  than  all  the  truths  of  God's  word.  Because  he 
is  determined  to  believe  his  state  good,  nothing  will  con- 
vince him  to  the  contrary. 

If  men  thus  self-confident  forsake  their  profession, 
and  openly  apostatize,  we  need  not  be  surprised.  ^'It  is 
impossible  but  that  offences  will  come."^  (Luke  xvii  : 
1.)  "  There  must  also  be  heresies  among  you,  that  they 
which  are  approved  may  be  made  manifest  among  you.^^ 
(1  Cor.  xi :  19.)  Open  defections  from  truth  and  right- 
eousness are  no  strange  things.  It  has  been  so  from  the 
beginning.  Jesus  had  his  Judas.  Peter  must  deal  with 
Ananias,  Sapphira,  and  Simon  Magus.  Paul  was  in 
perils  among  false   brethren,   and   Demas  quite  forsook 


MI8CELLANE0  US.  41^ 

him.  We  must  expect  those  that  are  not  of  us  to  go  out 
from  us.  If  they  were  of  us,  they  would  no  doubt  con- 
tinue with  us.  The  wicked  will  do  wickedly,  though  for 
a  Vvdiile  they  may  seem  to  be  righteous. 

The  case  of  Judas  gives  us  the  rule  of  admission  to 
church-membership,  and,  so  far  as  moral  character  is 
concerned,  to  church  offices.  We  may  require  a  credible 
profession  of  piety.  Infallible  evidence  of  love  to  Christ 
is  not  attainable.  A  profession  of  piety,  accompanied  b}^ 
such  evidence  as  a  consistent  life  affords,  is  as  much  as 
we  may  demand.  Our  Savious  knew  Judas  from  the 
beginning  to  be  a  bad  man,  "a  devil;''  but  his  omni- 
science, not  the  overt  acts  of  Judas,  taught  him  thus, 
and  so  he  received  him  into  the  church,  leaving  us  an 
example  that  we  should  folio v\r  his  steps.  Our  Lord 
judged  of  the  members  of  his  church,  not  by  what  he 
as  God  knew  of  their  hearts,  but  by  their  credible  pro- 
fession. The  Master  never  did  evil  that  good  might 
come.  He  practiced  on  the  true  rule.  Let  us  seek  no 
other.  However  painful  our  fears  respecting  the  real 
characters  of  men,  we  must  respect  a  profession  of  piety, 
not  contradicted  by  the  life. 

Thus,  too,  we  have  a  full  refutation  of  the  objection 
made  to  a  connection  with  the  visible  church,  because 
there  are  wicked  men  in  her  communion.  The  apostles 
certainly  knew  that  among  them  was  one  bad  man  ;  but 
they  did  not  therefore  renounce  their  portion  among 
Christ's  confessed  friends.  And  Christ  himself  held  in- 
tercourse with  Judas  just  as  if  he  were  all  he  professed 
to  be.  So  that  if  one  certainly  knew  another  to  be  an 
enemy  of  God,  and  yet  could  not  prove  it  to  the  satis- 
faction of  impartial  church  authorities,  this  should  not 
debar  him  from  the  Lord's  table.  If  dogs  will  some- 
times get  the  children's  bread,  that  is  no  reason  why  a 
table  should  not  be  spread  fo.-  the  children. 


418  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

How  difficult  it  is  to  bring  home  trutli  to  the  deceit 
ful  heart  of  man.  Nor  could  one  do  a  Aviser  tiling  than 
to  inquire  wliether  he  has  better  evidence  of  piety  than 
the  great  traitor  had  during  his  aposcleship.  Judas 
could  heal  the  sick,  raise  the  dead,  and  cast  out  devils. 
He  was  first  a  disciple,  and  then  an  apostle  of  our  Lord. 
He  often  heard  Christ  preach.  He  held  the  only  office 
of  trust  among  the  apostles.  His  reputation  for  piety 
stood  as  fair  as  any  mnn's.  His  persuasion  of  his  good 
state  seems  to  have  been  so  firm,  that  he  hardly  felt  in- 
clined to  look  into  the  grounds  of  his  hopes.  He  was 
not  a  drunkard,  nor  a  swearer.  He  was  not  a  captious 
hearer  of  the  Gospel.  Without  a  murmur  he  bore  all 
the  fatigue  of  his  apostolic  mission.  He  was  not  an  en- 
vious man  beyond  others.  He  was  not  a  slanderer,  a 
reviler,  a  backbiter,  a  whisperer.  He  displayed  tio  in- 
ordinate ambition.  He  was  not  a  brawler,  nor  a  violent 
and  outrageous  man.  And  yet  he  was  not  a  child  of 
God.  Mere  negative  goodness,  mere  freedom  from  open 
vice,  proves  no  man  an  heir  of  glory.  It  is  true  there 
was  sufficient  evidence  against  Judas,  but  he  willingly 
overlooked  that.  If  many  men  had  as  good  evidence 
against  their  enemies  or  their  neighbors,  as  they  have 
against  themselves,  they  would  speedily  pronounce  them 
hypocrites. 

In  the  case  of  Judas  we  have  also  a  fearful  example 
of  the  terrible  judgment  of  God  against  the  wicked.  As 
he  loved  cursing,  so  it  came  unto  him  ;  as  he  delighted 
not  in  blessing,  so  it  was  far  from  him.  As  he  clothed 
himself  with  cursing  like  as  with  his  garment,  so  it  came 
into  his  bowels  like  water,  and  like  oil  into  his  bones. 
God's  judgments  are  still  abroad  in  the  earth.  Of  all 
judgments,  those  which  are  spiritual  should  most  alarm 
us.  To  have  eyes  and  not  see,  to  have  ears  and  not  hear, 
to  have  hearts  and  not  understand,  to  hold  the  truth  in 


MISCELLANEOUS.  4i9 

tmrighteousness,  to  be  forsaken  of  God,  to  be  given  over 
to  believe  a  lie — these  are  among  the  direst  curses  that 
fall  on  men  in  this  world  ;  and  they  are  sure  forerunners 
of  God's  sorest  plagues  in  the  world  to  come.  And  bow 
fearful  must  it  be  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living 
God,  when  on  earth  a  drop  of  wrath  will  make  men 
choose  hanging  rather  than  life.  And  how  dismal  must 
be  the  prospects  of  all  who  die  in  their  sins,  when  they 
shall  have  for  their  companions  Judas  and  all  evil-mind- 
ed men,  the  devil  and  his  angels.  The  society  of  the 
damned  is  good  gi'ound  of  earnestness  in  fleeing  from 
the  wrath  to  come. 

All  temporal  suffering  can  be  gauged.  But  who  can 
fathom  the  sea  of  love,  the  ocean  of  bliss,  made  sure  to 
all  believers  ?  And  eternal  misery  is  as  dreadful  as  eter- 
nal glory  is  desirable.  Oh  !  how  fearful  must  be  the 
doom  of  the  incorrigibly  wicked,  when  in  their  case 
existence  itself  ceases  to  be  desirable,  or  even  tolerable  I 
It  is  true  of  ever}^  one  who  dies  without  repentance 
toward  God,  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  it 

HAD  BEEN  GOOD  FOR  THAT  MAi^  IF  HE  HAD  KOT  BEEi^" 
BORi^". 


THE  SCEPTIC  ; 

OR,  HAPPINESS  APART  FROM  THE  HOPE  OF  RESURRECTION". 

PARIS    EXHIBITION     SERMON. 

REV.  JAMES  MURRAY,  M.  A. 

IN  THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  ORATOIRE,  RUE  ST.  HOKOR^,  PARIS. 

**  If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  tmn  most 
miserable." — 1  Cor.  xv  :  19. 

TT  was  the  intention  of  the  Apostle,  to  establish  in  the 

minds  of  Christian  converts  at  Corinth,  the  truth  of 

the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.     A  iiivater  or 


420  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

more  imi)ortaiit  doctrine  could  not  be  submitted  for  their 
consideration  or  for  ours,  as  it  is  the  groundwork  and 
foundation  of  our  holy  religion.  Without  this  the  suffer- 
ings and  death  of  Christ,  undergone  for  sinful  men 
would  be  in  vain,  and  the  system  of  instruction  which 
he  came  to  deliA^er,  would  be  better  in  degree  only,  than 
that. of  any  wise  teacher  of  the  ancient  world.  Without 
this,  our  hopes  and  expectations  must  have  been  confined 
within  the  narrow  sj^here  of  our  present  earthly  state.  .  . 

The  whole  chapter  deserves  the  most  serious  and  at- 
tentive consideration.  In  it  you  will  see  the  certainty 
of  a  future  resurrection  enforced  by  the  closest  reason- 
ing, and  in  plain,  yet  eloquent  language,  such  asmnst 
have  produced  a  powerful  impression  on  those  to  whom 
it  was  addressed.  Among  the  errors  which  appear  to 
liave  crept  into  the  Corinthian  church,  and  against  which 
this  great  teacher  had  to  watch  and  to  warn,  was  that 
derived  from  the  Sadducees,  who  denied  the  doctrine  of  a 
resurrection.  Some  of  the  early  professing  Christians  at 
Corinth  had  probably  belonged  to  the  sect  of  the  Sad- 
ducees,  and  had  insinuated  some  of  the  poison  into  the 
Corinthian  church.   .  .   . 

This  doctrine  of  Sadducees,  which  represents  all  who 
sleep  in  the  grave  as  utterly  and  for  ever  dead,  holds 
out  a  cheerless  and  melancholy  prospect  to  all,  but  espe- 
cially to  us,  the  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  if 
in  this  life  only  we  had  hope  in  him — if  we  could  not 
look  beyond  this  vale  of  tears  to  a  brighter  and  more 
animating  scene,  then  we  who  are  exposed  to  so  many 
and  great  calamities  for  his  name^s  sake,  were  of  all  men 
most  to  be  pitied  ;  amidst  such  evils  as  we  are  summoned 
to  endure,  nothing  could  support  and  comfort  us  except 
the  blessed  hope  of  everlasting  life  which  God  hath  given 
us  in  his  Son  Jesus  Christ. 

We  must  be  strictly  careful  lest  our  outward  security 


.     MISCELLANEOUS.  421 

in  religion  should  lull  us  into  disregard  and  forgetf  ulness 
of  that  inward  and  spiritual  part  which  constitutes  the 
very  life  of  religion,  or  lest,  while  we  admire  the  happy 
and  beneficial  effect  produced  by  Christianity  on  nations 
and  individuals,  we  should  lose  sigbt  of  that  to  which 
precept  points,  and  which  is  the  end  of  practice,  the 
blessed  hope  of  everlasting  life.  To  show^  the  necessity 
of  the  same  principle  extending  to  daily  life,  and  shed- 
ding its  gracious  influence  upon  the  scenes  through 
which  we  are  passing,  it  will  be  found  that  the  very  bless- 
ings and  comforts  of  which  our  state  is  susceptible  must, 
in  order  to  be  genuine,  have  this  mark  upon  them,  indi 
eating  futurity  ;  and  experience  will  abundantly  prove 
that  amidst  the  reverses  of  life,  in  deep  and  lowly  pov- 
verty,  in  sickness  and  bereavement,  there  must  be  some 
better  remedy  proposed  than  the  skill  of  this  world  can 
suggest,  some  more  lively  hope  than  present  restoration 
from  pain  and  sorrow,  and  from  the  bitterness  of  desola- 
tion. Constituted  as  we  are,  there  must  be  within  us  for 
our  happiness,  that  hope  in  Christ  hereafter,  which  will 
not  only  regulate  and  adjust  our  joys  and  difficulties, 
and  prepare  the  soul  for  better  and  permanent  things, 
but  will  act  with  good  results  upon  our  behavior  and 
conversation,  while  in  this  world  w^e  are  partakers  of 
God's  gifts  and  rhe  subjects  of  his  afflictive  dispensa- 
tions ;  for  viewed  independently  of  this  hope,  what  is 
man  with  regard  to  his  joys  and  to  his  sorrows  ?  His 
enjoyments  are  transient  and  unsatisfying.  There  are 
few  without  a  certain  alloy  of  a  trouble  and  anxiety, 
and  many  are  quickly  followed  by  sorrow  and  regret. 

In  contemplating  the  enjoyments  and  pursuits  of  man- 
kind in  general,  we  must  acknowledge,  that  the  situa- 
tion and  circumstances  of  the  poor  naturally  deprive  them 
of  many  of  this  life's  satisfactions,  and  their  present  en- 
joyment will  be  found  to  lie  in  but  tl  uarvovr  compass,  li^ 


422  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

then,  thej  are  living  \yitliout  God  in  the  world,  if  they 
bestow  no  settled  .thoughts  on  their  eternal  state,  if 
in  this  life  only  they  have  hope  in  Christ,  their  state  is 
deplorable  indeed  ;  but  if  they  rely  with  humble  trust 
on  their  crucified  and  risen  Saviour, — if  they  respect  the 
Sabbath  and  are  constant  in  prayer,  setting  a  good  exam- 
ple to  their  neighbors — if,  in  proportion  to  their  acknow- 
ledged want  of  wordly  joys  below,  they  look  forward 
with  a  sure  and  ardent  hope  to  a  state  in  which  they 
shall  receive  the  promised  reward,  then  ^^  blessed  are  the 
poor,  for  they  shall  be  blessed  in  the  day  of  the  Lord.'^ 

Yet  there  are  enjoyments  and  satisfactions  of  this  life 
which  all  can  experience  and  understand,  namely,  those 
which  spring  from  social  and  domestic  happiness.  Of 
all  the  cordials  which  heaven  in  mercy  has  poured  into 
the  cup  of  life  to  cheer  us  on  our  pilgrimage  here,  few 
are  so  sweet  and  refreshing  as  these.  To  look  upon  those 
who  are  indeed  our  friends,  who  compose  the  circle  of  a 
peaceful  home,  imparts  the  liveliest  feelings  of  joy.  But 
here  the  Christian  hope  must  have  its  play.  Without 
this,  the  bond  of  affection  must  soon  be  broken,  and  all 
enjo}Tiient  derived  from  it  be  but  as  a  shadow.  It  is 
this  which  will  pervade  with  its  soothing  influence  our 
thoughts  and  conduct  ;  will  consecrate  each  mutual 
office  of  paternal  kindness  and  filial  respect  ;  will,  with 
God's  grace,  check  the  angry  passion  ere  it  rises  from  the 
heart  to  the  lips  ;  and  will  point  to  a  state  of  perfect 
and  unalloyed  bliss  beyond  the  grave.     *     *     * 

I  am  not  going  to  dwell  on  the  advantages  of  wealth 
and  talent,  because  the  possessors  of  these  gifts,  when 
unblessed  with  higher  hopes,  have  been  like  beacons  to 
warn  us  from  the  rocks  of  offence,  rather  than  the  sub- 
jects of  envy  or  admiration.  Nor  need  I,  when  turning 
to  the  reverse  of  the  page  of  man's  life,  and  to  the  trou- 
ble which  every  one  labors  under,  in  a  greater  or  less  de- 


MISCELLANEOUS,  423 

gree,  enlarge  upon  a  field  familiar  to  us  all.  The  sketch 
must  be  imperfect,  but  it  will  avail  for  my  argument. 
How  many  diseases  are  there,  some  lingering  and  others 
sudden  and  acute,  wliich  are  sufficient,  without  this  hope 
in  Christ,  to  make  life  a  weary  burden.  Reckon  the 
difficulties  which  many  have  to  encounter  in  seeking  just 
and  honest  ends,  the  cares  necessary  for  arriving  at  some 
2)oint  of  desired  success,  and,  in  certain  instances,  even 
for  securing  a  hard-earned  competency  ;  in  one  case  the 
threatening  form  of  poverty  coming  after  better  days,  and 
approaching  as  an  armed  man  ;  the  growing  infirmities  of 
age  ;  the  ill  conduct,  or  the  losses,  or  the  distresses  of 
those  who  are  dear  to  us  ; — any  one  of  these  would  have 
its  weight  in  depressing  the  soul,  and  much  more  so,  if 
they  shall  be  found  to  follow  up  one  another  in  sad  and 
swift  succession.  On  such  a  survey,  how  is  it  possible 
to  pronounce  man's  state  on  earth  a  happy  state,  unless 
at  the  same  time  we  view  him  as  inly  conscious  of  that 
within  him  which  was  not  born  to  die  ;  as  endued  with 
some  secret  sujDport,  which  can  give  strength  and  cheer- 
fulness to  his  spirit,  and  qualify  him  to  go  through  more 
than  human  strength  or  human  reason  could  do  of  them- 
selves ;  as  possessed,  in  short,  of  that  ho23e  on  which  he 
can  always  confidently  lean,  which  encourages  him  to 
look  upward  as  the  waters  of  affliction  roll  over  his  head, 
and  to  exclaim  at  the  approach  of  his  last  hour,  "  0  death, 
where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ? 
Thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.^' 


'*  Our  home  in  heaven  !     Oh,  the  glorious  home, 
And  the  spirit  joined  with  the  bride,  says,  '  Come.* 
Come,  seek  His  face,  and  your  sins  forgiven, 
And  rejoice  in  hope  of  your  home  in  heaven,'* 


424  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES, 


A  BLASPHEMER. 

LESSONS  FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  NABOTH. 
REV.  HUGH  HUGHES,  D.D.,  ENGLAND. 
"And  there  came  in  two  men,  children  of  Belial,  and  sat  before  him : 
and  the  men  of  Belial  witnessed  against  Mm,  even  against 
Nahoth,  in  the  presence  of  the  people^  saying,  Naboth  did  blas- 
pheme God  and  the  king.  Then  tliey  carried  him  forth  out  of 
the  city,  and  stoned  him  with  stones,  that  he  died. " — 1  KmGS 
xxi :  13. 

npHE  scene  recorded  in  these  words  exhibits  one  of  the 
most  himentable  and  cruel  deaths  on  record.  It  oc- 
curred about  seven  years  after  the  destruction  of  the 
discomfited  priests  of  Baal  on  Mount  Carmel.  The 
signal  punishment  of  the  wicked  on  that  occasion  ought 
to  have  converted  Ahab  from  his  evil  ways,  and  brought 
him  to  '^repentance  not  to  be  repented  of."  The  signal 
deliverance  of  the  kingdom  from  famine,  which  followed, 
ought  to  have  knit  his  heart  for  ever  to  Him  who 
delighteth  in  mercy  and  goodness.  And  he  appears  to 
have  been  for  the  time  convinced  and  softened  by  the 
indisputable  testimony  of  what  he  had  seen  and  heard 
and  felt.  Bat  the  impression  soon  wore  off  under  the 
bad  influence  of  his  irreclaimable  queen  Jezebel.  Ho 
i-elapsed  into  idolatry,  and  became  again  the  sport  of  all 
the  evil  passions  to  which  our  evil  nature  unchecked  by 
true  religion  is  prone. 

The  evil  passion  which  now  worked  in  the  heart  of 
Ahab  was  covetousness.  There  lived  at  Jezreel  a  right- 
eous man  of  the  name  of  Naboth,  whose  vineyard  bordered 
on  the  grounds  belonging  to  the  royal  palace.  Ahab, 
not  content  with  his  already  ample  domains,  in  disregard 
of  the  tenth  commandment,  coveted  that  possession  of 
his  neighbor,  and;  wished  to;mnex  ic  tobis  Q^n  property, 


MISCELLANEOUS.  425 

It  iippGiirs  that  ho  was  not  so  unjust  as  to  expect  it 
without  a  price.  Ho  offered  even  to  give  a  better  vine- 
yard in  exchange  for  it,  or  to  pay  its  full  value  in  money. 
But  Naboth  said  unto  Ahab,  '^The  Lord  forbid  it  me 
that  I  should  give  the  inheritance  of  my  fathers  unto 
thee." 

Ahab,  who  had  sinfully  set  his  heart  upon  this  prop- 
erty, was  greatly  cliagrined  and  disappointed  at  Naboth's 
refusal.  But  displeased  as  he  was,  and  despotic  as  he 
was,  he  durst  not  by  force  seize  upon  another's  inherit- 
ance, as  it  would  have  been  a  flagrant  breach  of  the  con- 
stitution of  the  country,  and  perhaps,  by  creating  a 
universal  panic  respecting  the  security  of  property,  would 
have  endangered  the  stability  of  his  throne.  Neither 
could  he  alter  the  law  upon  the  point,  the  Israelitish 
kings  had  no  authority  to  alter,  annul,  or  enact  a  single 
statute  of  the  realm,  the  code  of  Moses  being  the  alpha 
and  omega  of  the  national  legislation.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances the  evil  passion  of  covetousness,  and  his 
inability  to  gratify  it,  caused  him  excessive  annoyance, 
embittered  all  his  enjoyments,  and  appears  to  have  seriously 
affected  his  health.  "  He  laid  him  down  on  his  bed,  and 
turned  away  his  face,  and  would  eat  no  bread."  What 
sources  of  misery  aie  capricious  appetites  and  ill-regu- 
lated desires  !  Here  is  a  man  already  lord  of  ten-twelfths 
of  the  country,  the  king  of  Israel,  and  the  recent  con- 
queror of  Syria,  made  wretched  because  he  could  not 
obtain  possession  of  a  poor  man's  vineyard.  What  a  proof 
of  the  vanity  of  worldly  things,  and  their  inability  to 
"minister  to  a  mind  diseased  !"     .     .     . 

She  adopted  a  most  infamous  scheme  for  the  purpose 
— a  scheme  the  more  abominable  in  the  sight  of  God  and 
upright  men  from  it  combining  with  robbery  and  murder 
the  odious  vices  of  hypocrisy  and  perjury.  She  wrote 
letters  in  Ahab's  name  to  the  elders  and  nobles  of  Jezreel, 


426  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

and  commanded  them  to  procure  two  men,  sons  of 
Belial,  that  is,  two  men  who  were  unprincipled  enough 
to  take  a  false  oath,  and  for  a  bribe  to  swear  away  the 
life  of  a  fellow  creature.  She  ordered  that  Naboth 
should  be  charged  with  treason  and  blasphemy,  for 
which,  according  to  the  Mosaic  law,  the  punishment  was 
death  by  stoning.  She  ordered  a  fast  to  be  proclaimed 
in  the  place,  to  intimate  the  deprecation  of  a  great 
calamity  impending  over  the  nation  for  its  toleration  of 
such  a  crying  evil  as  the  existence  of  such  a  traitor  and 
blasphemer  within  the  city.  .  .  .  Justice  and  religion 
are  tliemselves  made  the  pretexts  for  perpetrating  the 
most  atrocious  crimes.  The  very  seat  of  justice  is  cor- 
rupted, and  the  very  sanctuary  of  religion  polluted. 
The  handmaids  of  virtue  become  the  abettors  of  vice, 
and  the  daughters  of  heaven  are  changed  into  ministers 
of  hell,  the  angels  of  light  into  the  emissaries  of  Satan. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  decay  of  moral  and 
religious  principles  is  rapid  beyond  calculation.  Pro- 
fligacy, fear,  treachery  and  sycophancy  bear  uncontrolled 
sway.  It  was  precisely  so  on  the  present  occasion. 
There  was  not  among  all  the  magistrates  and  counsellors 
of  Jezreel  so  much  of  regard  for  righteousness  and 
purity  as  in  the  single  breast  of  the  God-fearing  Naboth. 
We  do  not  hear  that  the  innocent  accused  attempted  a 
word  of  defence.  Her  charge  against  him  was  similar 
to  that  against  a  greater  One,  who  was  ''led  as  a  lamb 
to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  slieep  before  her  shearers  is 
dumb,  so  He  opened  not  His  mouth."  In  the  one  case 
as  in  the  other,  the  power  of  evil  under  the  auspices  of 
Jezebel  was  triumphant,  as  it  triumphed  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  those  who  cried  out,  ''Crucify  Him,  crucify 
Him  V  And,  like  Jesus,  Naboth  was  overwhelmed  by 
the  force  of  injustice  and  malignity,  and  consigned  to 


MISCELLANEOUS.  427 

execution.     '^  They  carried  liim  forth  out  ol  the  city, 
and  stoned  him  with  stones,  that  he  died."  .   .   . 

How  short  are  the  triumphs  of  tJie  wicked  !  and  how 
vain  the  attempt  to  increase  our  enjoyments  by  crime  ! 
In  the  very  scene  where  Aluib  expected  an  augmentation 
of  happiness,  there  was  presented  to  him  the  greatest 
source  of  mental  disquietude  and  suffering.  There 
Elijah  told  him  from  the  Lord  that  ample  vengeance 
would  be  taken  upon  him,  his  wife,  and  family,  for  the 
atrocity  connected  with  that  vineyard ;  that  he  himself 
should  die  a  violent  death,  and  that  the  dogs  should  lick 
his  blood  as  they  had  licked  the  blood  of  Naboth ;  that 
Jezebel  should  die  a  violent  death,  and  that  the  dogs 
should  eat  her  up,  so  as  to  deprive  her  of  the  honor  of  a 
burial ;  and  that  his  whole  family  should  be  ex- 
tinguished, and  no  posterity  left  him  in  the  land.  Just 
retribution  for  extirpating  Naboth  and  his  house  !  All 
this  terrible  judgment,  though  part  of  it  was  delayed  on 
account  of  Ahab's  humiliation  under  the  reproof,  so 
that  it  was  not  fulfilled  in  his  lifetime,  was  ultimately 
brought  to  pass  to  the  uttermost  extent  of  its  meaning. 
Ahab  died  in  consequence  of  a  wound  received  in  battle; 
and  they  washed  his  cbariot  and  his  armor  in  the  pool 
of  Samaria,  and  the  dogs  licked  up  his  blood  according 
to  the  word  of  the  Lord.  His  son  Ahazia,  who  suc- 
ceeded him  on  the  throne,  came  to  a  premature  end  by 
an  accident,  which,  by  the  judgment  of  God,  proved 
fatal  on  account  of  his  persisting  in  idolatry.  His  son 
Jehoram.  tlie  next  in  succession,  fell  by  the  hand  of 
Jehu,  and  his  bleeding  body  was  cast  into  that  very  vine- 
yard which  his  father  and  mother  had  criminally  taken 
from  Naboth.  How  awful  a  fulfillment  of  the  threat 
against  the  idolatrous  and  the  wicked — '^  I  will  visit  the 
sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and 
fourth  generation  of  them  that  hate  Me  \" 


428  MEMORIAL     TIUBUTES. 

But  a  far  more  common,  and  not;  less  fatal,  thougli 
not  apparently  so  atrocious  a  working  of  avarice,  is  found 
in  the  common  walks  of  life  around  us  ;  and  I  notice  it 
as  a  disgrace  to  our  country.  I  mean  the  oppression  of 
the  weak  and  innocent  by  the  strong  and  unprincipled, 
through  the  medium  of  litigation,  by  the  quibbling  in- 
strumentality of  legal  forms.  Many  are  they  who  give 
up  their  just  rights  for  fear  of  the  ruinous  consequences 
of  an  expensive  law-suit ;  many  are  they  who  avail  them- 
selves of  the  apprehensions  of  the  timid  to  appropriate 
what  is  not  their  own.  Some  have  tliought  it  their  duty 
to  resist  injustice,  and  have  been  ruined  in  the  attempt 
by  the  force  of  superior  wealth,  and  brought  desolation 
on  their  families,  and  premature  death  on  themselves. 

Let  me  conclude  the  subject  with  a  word  of  admonition 
to  the  wordly-minded,  and  a  word  of  consolation  to  the 
afflicted  people  of  God.  Ye  Avorldly-minded  men,  see 
the  end  of  worldly-mindedness  in  Ahab  and  his  house. 
*'  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  \"  It  has  slain  its  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands.  It  will  certainly  slay,  yea,  ever- 
lastingly destroy  thee,  whosoever  thou  art  who  are  led 
captivity  by  it;  for  ''the  wages  of  sin  is  death." 
''Though  hand  join  in  hand  the  wicked  shall  not  go  un- 
punished ''  Methinks  I  hear  you  say,  "The  subject  is 
too  gloomy  for  the  present.  AVe  have  other  concerns  to 
attend  to.  At  a  future  time  we  will  consider  the  subject. 
Xow,  or  '  to-morrow,  we  will  go  into  such  a  city,  and 
continue  there  a  year,  and  buy,  and  sell,  and  get  gain  ;' 
'  and  to-morrow  shall  be  as  this  day,  and  much  more 
abundant.'"  To-morrow!  When  to-morrow  comes,  time 
may  be  with  you  no  more  ;  when  to-morrow  comes,  your 
fair  form  may  be  a  ghastly  corpse.  Come,  and  take  a  turn 
with  death.  Behold  him  riding  on  his  pale  horse,  to  meet 
you  in  your  mad  career.  Perhaps  he  is  now  about  to 
seize  the  healthiest  in  the  assembly.     The  passing  bell^ 


MIS  CELL  AN R  0  US.  4^0 

which  may  have  just  tolled  for  m  departed  brother,  may 
next  be  heard  for  you  ;  the  feet  of  those  who  lately  car- 
ried his  remaius  to  the  silent  grave,  may  next  carry  you 
thither.  ''How  long,  ye  simple  ones,  will  you  love  sim- 
plicity ?"  How  long  will  you  resolve  to  enlarge  your 
borders,  to  ''pull  down  your  barns  and  build  greater," 
when  ye  know  not  but  the  Lord  may  blast  all  your  ex- 
pectations with  the  withering  sentence,  "  Thou  fool  ! 
this  night  thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee/'  Will 
nothing  rouse  you  from  carnal  security?  "If  a  man 
live  many  years,  and  rejoice  in  them  all,  yet  let  him  re- 
member the  days  <^f  darkness,  for  they  shall  be  many." 
Though  the  sinner  die  a  hundred  years  old  yet  shall  he 
be  accursed.  Can  you  trifle  here  ?  Is  it  a  matter  of  in- 
difference whether  you  are  happy  or  miserable  ?  Is  it  a 
matter  of  indifference  whether  you  are  saved  or  damned  ? 
How  will  you  endure  ''the  voice  of  the  archangel  and 
the  trump  of  God,  saying.  Arise,  ye  dead,  and  come  to 
judgment  ?"  Will  you  not  then  in  wild  confusion  cry 
to  "  the  rocks  and  mountains  to  fall  upon  you,  to  hide 
you  from  the  the  face  of  Him  that  siteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  lamb  ?  "  But  then 
that  cry  will  be  vain. 

"The  sea  shall  cast  the  monsters  forth  to  meet  their  doom, 
And  rocks  but  treasure  up  for  wrath  to  come." 

May  the  Lord  enable  you  to  call  upon  Him  by  fervent 
prayer  now  that  He  is  seated  upon  a  throne  of  mercy, 
that  so,  when  He  is  seated  in  judgment,  you  may  stand 
before  him  with  boldness  among  the  happy  heirs  of  a 
blessed  immortality  I 


4gO  MEMontAL     miBtjTm. 


THE    WICKED   MAN'S    LIFE,   FUNERAL,   AND 
EPITAPH. 

BEV.    C.    H.    SPURGEOI^,    LO]S"DON". 
'*  And  so  1  saw  the  wicked  huHed,  wlio  had  come  and  gone  from  tJie 
place  of  the  holy,  and  they  icere  forgotten  in  the  city  where  they 
had  so  done :  this  is  also  canity y — Ecclesiastes  viii :  10. 

TT/'E  shall  this  morning  want  yon,  first  of  all,  to  ivdlh 
with  a  living  man ;  it  is  said  of  him  that  he  did 
^^corne  and  go  from  the  place  of  the  holy:"  next,  I  shall 
want  you  to  attend  Ms  funeral ;  and  then,  in  conclusion 
I  shall  ask  you  to  assist  in  writing  his  epitaph — *^  and 
they  Avere  forgotten  in  the  city  where  they  had  so  done: 
this  also  is  vanity/' 

I.  In  the  first  place,  here  is  some  good  company 
FOR  YOU ;  some  with  whom  you  may  walk  to  the  house 
of  God,  for  it  is  said  of  them,  that  they  did  come  and 
go  from  the  place  of  the  holy.  By  this  I  think  we  may 
understand  the  place  where  the  righteous  meet  to  wor- 
ship God.  God's  house  may  be  called  ''  the  place  of  the 
holy." 

Shall  w^e  just  take  the  wicked  man's  arm  and  walk 
ivith  him  to  the  house  of  God  ?  When  he  begins  to  go, 
if  he  be  one  who  has  neglected  going  in  his  childhood, 
which  perhaps  is  not  extremely  likely,  when  lie  begins 
to  go  even  in  his  childhood,  or  whenever  you  choose  to 
mention,  you  will  notice  that  he  is  not  often  affected, 
by  the  sound  of  the  ministry.  He  goes  up  to  the  chapel 
with  flippancy  and  mirth.  He  goeth  to  it  as  he  would  to 
a  theater  or  any  other  place  of  amusement,  as  a  means 
01  passing  away  his  Sabbath  and  killing  time.  Merrily 
he  trippeth  in  there;  but  I  have  seen  the  wicked  man 
when  he  went  away  look  far  differently  from  what  he 
did  when  he  entered.     His  plumes  had  been  trailed  in 


MISGELLANEO  tT8.  431 

the  dust.  As  he  walks  home  there  is  no  more  flippancy 
and  lightness,  for  he  says,  *'  Surely  the  Lord  God  has 
been  in  that  place  and  I  have  been  compelled  to  tremble. 
I  went  to  scoff,  but  I  am  obliged,  in  coming  away,  to 
confess  that  there  is  a  power  in  religion,  and  the  ser- 
vices of  God^s  house  are  not  all  dulness  after  all."  Per- 
haps you  have  hoped  good  of  this  man.  But,  alas!  he 
forgot  it  all,  and  cast  aAvay  all  his  impressions.  And 
he  came  again  the  next  Sunday,,  and  that  time  he  felt 
again.  Again  tlie  arrow  of  the  Lord  seemed  to  stick  fast 
in  his  heart.  Bnt,  alas!  it  was  like  the  rushing  of  water. 
There  was  a  mark  for  a  moment,  but  his  heart  was  soon 
healed,  he  felt  not  the  blow  ;  and  as  for  persuading  him 
to  salvation,  he  was  like  the  deaf  adder,  '^  charm  we  ne- 
ver so  wisely,"  he  would  not  regard  us  so  as  to  turn  from 
his  ways.  And  I  have  seen  him  come  and  go  till  years 
have  rolled  over  his  head,  and  he  has  still  filled  his  seat, 
and  the  minister  is  still  preaching,  but  in  his  case  preach- 
ing in  vain.  Still  are  the  tears  of  mercy  flowing  for 
him  ;  still  are  the  thunders  of  justice  launched  against 
him  ;  but  he  abideth  just  as  he  was.  In  him  there  is  no 
change  except  this,  that  now  he  groweth  hard  and 
callous. 

But  it  is  not  strange  that,  though  wooed  by  love 
divine,  man  will  not  melt  ;  though  thundered  at  by 
Sinai's  own  terrific  thunderbolts  they  will  not  tremble  ; 
yea,  though  Christ  himself  incarnate  in  the  flesh  should 
preach  again,  yet  would  they  not  regard  him,  and  may- 
hap would  treat  him  to-day  as  their  parents  did  but 
yesterday,  when  they  dragged  him  out  of  the  city  and 
would  have  cast  him  headlong  from  the  summit  of  the 
mount  on  which  the  city  was  builded.  I  have  seen  the 
wicked  come  and  go  from  the  place  of  the  holy  till  his 
conscience  was  seared,  as  with  a  hot  iron. 

But  now  we  are  going  to  change  our  journey.     In- 


433  MEMOniAL      TRIBUTm. 

stead  of  going  to  the  house  of  God  we  will  go  another 
way.  I  have  seen  the  wicked  go  to  the  place  of  the  holy, 
that  is  to  the  judgment  bench.  We  have  had  glaring  in- 
stances even  in  the  criminal  calendar  of  men  who  have 
been  seen  sitting  on  a  judgment  bench  one  day,  and  in  a 
short  time  they  have  been  standing  at  the  dock  them- 
selves. I  have  wondered  what  must  be  the  i3eculiar 
feelings  of  a  man  who  officiates  as  a  judge,  knowing  that 
he  who  judges  has  been  a  law-breaker  himself.  A 
wicked  man,  a  greedy,  lustful,  drunken  man — you  know 
such  are  to  be  discovered  among  petty  magistrates.  We 
have  known  these  sit  and  condemn  the  drunkard,  when, 
had  the  world  known  how  they  went  to  bed  the  night 
before,  they  would  have  said  to  them,  ^''Thou  that 
judgest  another  doest  the  same  thing  thyself/^  There 
have  been  instances  known  of  men  who  have  condemned 
a  poor  wretch  for  shooting  a  rabbit  or  stealing  a  few 
pheasant's  eggs,  or  some  enormous  crime  like  that,  and 
they  themselves  have  been  robbing  the  coffers  of  the  bank, 
embezzling  funds  to  an  immense  extent,  and  cheating 
everybody.  I  have  seen  the  wicked  come  and  go  from 
the  holy  place,  until  he  came  to  think  that  his  sins  were 
no  sins,  that  the  poor  must  be  severely  upbraided  for 
their  iniquities,  that  what  he  called  the  lower  classes 
must  be  kept  in  check,  not  thinking  that  there  are  none 
so  low  as  those  who  condemn  others  whilst  they  do  the 
the  same  things  themselves  ;  talking  of  curbing  others 
and  of  judging  righteous  judgment,  w^lien  had  righteous 
judgment  been  carried  out  to  the  letter,  he  would  him- 
self have  been  the  prisoner,  and  not  have  been  honored 
with  a  commission  from  government. 

But  the  third  case  is  worse  still.  "  I  have  seen  the 
wicked  come  and  go  from  the  place  of  the  holy  " — that 
is,  the  ^mlpit.  If  there  be  a  place  under  high  heaven 
more  holy  than    another,  it  is    tlio  pulpit  whence   the 


MTSCELLANEOUS.  433 

gospel  is  preached.  This  is  the  Thermopylae  of  Christ- 
endom ;  liere  must  the  great  battle  be  fought  between 
Christ's  church  and  the  invading  hosts  of  a  wicked  world. 
This  is  the  last  vestige  of  anything  sacred  that  is  left  to 
us.  We  have  no  altars  now  ;  Christ  is  our  altar  ;  but  we 
have  a  pulpit  still  left,  a  place  which,  when  a  man 
entereth,  he  might  well  put  off  his  shoes  from  his  feet, 
for  the  place  whereon  he  standeth  is  holy.  Consecrated 
by  a  Saviour's  presence,  establislied  by  the  clearness 
and  the  force  of  an  apostle's  eloquence,  maintained  and 
upheld  by  the  faithfulness  and  fervor  of  a  succession  of 
Evangelists  who,  like  stars,  have  marked  the  era  in  which 
they  lived,  and  stamped  it  witli  their  names,  the  pulpit 
is  handed  down  to  those  of  us  who  occu^^y  it  noAV  with  a 
prestige  of  everything  that  is  great  and  holy.  Yet  I 
have  seen  the  wicked  come  and  go  from  it,  Alas  I  if 
there  be  a  sinner  that  is  hardened,  it  is  the  man  that 
sins  and  occupies  his  pulpit.  We  have  heard  of  such  a 
man  living  in  the  commission  of  the  foulest  sins,  and  at 
length  has  been  discovered  ;  and  yet  such  is  the  filthi- 
ness  of  mankind,  that  when  he  began  to  preach  to  the 
l)eople  again,  they  clustered  round  the  beast  for  the  mere 
sake  of  hearing  what  he  would  say  to  them.  We  have 
known  cases,  too,  where  men,  when  convicted  to  their 
own  forehead,  have  unblu shingly  persevered  in  proclaim- 
ing a  gospel  which  their  lives  denied.  .  .  . 

II.  And  now  we  are  going  to  his  funeral.  I  shall 
want  you  to  attend  it.  You  need  not  be  particular  about 
having  on  a  hat-band,  or  being  arrayed  in  garments  of 
mourning.  It  does  not  signify  for  the  wretch  we  are 
going  to  bury.  There  is  no  need  for  any  very  great  out- 
ward signs  of  mourning,  for  he  will  be  forgotten  even  in 
the  city  where  he  hath  done  this  :  therefore  we  need  not 
particularly  mourn  for  him.  Let  us  first  go  to  the 
19 


4  34  MEMORIA  L      THIS  UTE§. 

funeral  and  look  at  the  outward  ceremonial.     We  will 
suppose  one  or  two  cases. 

There  is  a  man  who  has  come  and  gone  from  the 
place  of  the  holy.  He  has  made  a  very  blazing  profes- 
sion. He  has  been  a  county  magistrate.  Now,  do  you 
see  what  a  stir  is  made  about  his  poor  bones  ?  There  is 
the  hearse  covered  with  plumes,  and  there  follows  a  long 
string  of  carriages.  The  country  people  stare  to  see 
such  a  long  train  of  carriages  coming  to  follow  one  poor 
worm  to  its  resting-place.  What  poinp  !  what  grandeur  ! 
See  \\o\Y  the  place  of  worship  is  hung  with  black.  There 
seems  to  be  intense  mourning  made  over  this  man.  Will 
you  just  think  of  it  for  a  minute,  and  who  are  they 
mourning  for  ?  A  hypocrite  !  Whom  is  all  this  pomp 
for  ?  For  one  who  was  a  wicked  man  ;  a  man  who  made 
a  pretension  of  religion  ;  a  man  who  judged  others,  and 
who  ought  to  have  been  condemned  himself.  All  this 
pomp  for  putrid  clay.  At  the  head  of  the  mournful 
cavalcade  is  Beelzebub,  leading  the  procession,  and  look- 
ing back  with  twinkling  eye,  and  leer  of  malicious  joy, 
says,  "  Here  is  fine  pomp  to  conduct  a  soul  to  hell 
with  !"  Ah  !  plumes  and  hearse  for  the  man  who  is 
being  conducted  to  his  last  abode  in  Tophet  !  A  string 
of  carriages  to  do  lionor  to  the  man  whom  God  hath 
cursed  in  life  and  cursed  in  death  ;  for  the  hope  of  the 
hypocrite  is  evermore  an  accursed  one.  And  a  bell  is 
ringing,  and  the  clergyman  is  reading  the  funeral  service, 
and  is  burying  the  man  'insure  and  certain  hope."' 
Gh  !  what  a  laugh  rings  up  from  somewhere  a  little 
lower  down  than  the  grave  !  Trust  to  a  bubble,  and 
hope  to  fly  to  the  stars  ;  trust  to  the  wild  winds,  that 
they  shall  conduct  you  safely  to  heaven  ;  but  trust  to 
such  a  hope  as  that,  and  thou  art  a  madman  indeed.  .  . 
Oh  !  if  we  judged  rightly,  when  a  hypocrite  died,  we 
should  do  him  no  honor.     Ah  !  when  a  godly  man  dies, 


Miscellaneous.  m 

ye  may  make  lamentation  over  him,  ye  may  well  carry 
him  with  solemn  pomp  unto  his  grave,  for  there  is  an 
odor  in  his  bones,  there  is  a  sweet  savor  about  him  that 
even  God  delighteth  in,  for  '' precious  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints/'  But  the  gilded  hypo- 
crite, the  varnished  deceiver,  the  well  accoutred  wolf  in 
sheeps'  clothing — away  with  pomp  for  him  ! 

Bad  men  die  out  quickly,  for  the  world  feels  it  is  a 
good  thing  to  be  rid  of  them  ;  they  are  not  worth  re- 
membering. But  the  death  of  a  good  man,  the  man 
who  was  sincerely  a  Christian — how  different  is  that! 
And  when  you  see  the  body  of  a  saint,  if  he  has  served 
God  with  al]  his  might,  how  sweet  it  is  to  look  upon 
him — ah,  and  to  look  upon  his  coffin  too,  or  upon  his 
tomb  in  after  years  !  Go  into  Bunhill-fields,  and  stand 
by  the  memorial  of  John  Bunyan,  and  you  will  say, 
^^Ah!  there  lies  the  head  that  contained  the  brain 
which  thought  out  that  wondrous  dream  of  the  Pilgrim's 
Progress  from  the  City  of  Destruction  to  the  better 
land.  There  lie  the  fingers  that  wrote  those  wondrous 
lines  which  depict  the  story  of  him  who  came  at  last  to 
the  land  Beulah,  and  waded  through  the  flood,  and  en- 
tered into  the  celestial  city.  And  there  are  the  eyelids 
which  he  once  spoke  of,  when  he  said,  '^If  I  lie  in  prison 
until  the  moss  grows  on  my  eyelids,  I  will  never  make  a 
promise  to  withhold  from  preaching."  And  there  is  that 
bold  eye  that  penetrated  the  judge,  when  he  said,  "  If 
you  will  let  me  out  of  prison  to-day,  I  will  preach  again 
to-morrow,  by  the  help  of  God."  And  there  lies  that 
loving  hand  that  was  ever  ready  to  receive  into  com- 
munion all  them  that  loved  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  :  I 
love  the  hand  that  wrote  the  book,  "  Water  Baptism  no 
Bar  to  Christian  Communion."  I  love  him  for  that  sake 
alone,  and  if  he  had  written  nothing  else  but  that,  I 
would  say,  *^  John  Bunyan,  be  honored  for  ever." 


4S(J  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

III.  "We  are  to  write  his  epitaph  ;  and  his  epitaph  is 
contained  in  these  short  words:  'Uhis  also  is  vanity/' 
And  now  in  a  few  words  I  will  endeavor  to  show  that 
it  is  vanity  for  a  man  to  come  and  go  from  the  house  of 
God,  and  yet  have  no  true  religion.  If  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  hate  God,  to  sin  against  him,  and  to  be  lost  at 
last,  I  would  do  it  thoroughly,  out  and  out.  If  I  had 
determined  to  be  damned,  and  had  calculated  the  chances, 
and  made  up  my  mind  that  it  would  be  better  to  be  cast 
away  for  ever,  I  know  there  is  one  thing  I  would  not  do, 
I  would  not  go  to  the  house  of  God.  Well  may  we  write 
over  him,  ''  This  also  is  vanity!'^  But,  sir,  you  will  be  more 
laughed  at  for  your  pretensions  than  if  you  had  made 
none.  Having  professed  to  be  religious,  and  having  pre- 
tended to  carry  it  out,  you  shall  have  more  scorn  than 
if  you  had  came  out  in  your  right  colors,  and  have  said, 
"Who  is  the  Lord,  that  I  should  fear  him  ?  Who  is 
Jehovah,  that  I  should  obey  his  voice  ?"  And  now,  are 
there  any  here  who  are  so  wicked  as  to  choose  eternal 
wrath  ?  if  thou  art  choosing  self -righteousness,  if  thou 
art  choosing  pride,  or  lust,  or  the  pleasures  of  this  world  ; 
remember,  thou  art  choosing  pride,  or  lust,  or  the 
pleasures  of  this  world  ;  remember,  thou  art  choosing 
damnation,  for  the  two  things  cannot  but  go  together. 
Sm  is  the  guilt,  and  hell  is  the  bread  beneath  it.  If  you 
choose  sin,  you  have  virtually  chosen  perdition.  Think 
of  this,  I  beseech  you. 

"O  Lord!  do  thou  the  sinner  turn  I 
Now  rouse  him  from  his  senseless  state; 
O  let  him  not  thy  counsel  spurn, 
Nor  rue  his  fatal  choice  too  late." 


MIlSCELLANEOUa.  437 


A  GOOD  MINISTEE. 

A  SERMOI?"  PREACHED  IIT  TABERiq-ACLE  CHURCH,  (BAP- 
TIST) PHILADELPHIA,  BY  GEORGE  E.  REES,  PASTOR, 
OK  THE  DEATH  OF  W.  T.  BRANTLT,  D.  D.,  A  FORMER 
PASTOR  OF   THE  CHURCH. 

A  good  minister  of  Jems  Christ. — 1  Tim.  iv:  6. 
T  WILL  speak  of  Dr.  Brantly  under  the  guidance  of 
the  text  that  I  have  read  :  ^'  A  good  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ/^  There  are  many  ministers  in  the  church. 
Every  one  who  enters  upon  the  service  of  the  brother- 
hood for  Christ^s  sake  is  a  minister — the  teachers,  the 
visitors,  the  givers,  the  helpers — all  who  go  on  the  Lord's 
errands,  all  who  do  good  unto  men,  are  ministers  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  a  minister  of  Jesus  is  chiefly 
known  as  one  who  devotes  himself  to  the  preaching  of 
the  Word,  and  to  the  oversight  of  the  Church  of  God. 

I.  The  essential  elements  of  a  good  minister  of  Christ 
are  found  primarily  in  his  personal  character. 

There  is  no  work  in  life  in  which  fitness  depends  so 
largely  on  character  as  that  of  the  ministry.  Genius 
might  set  her  zeal  on  the  spoken  word,  and  common- 
place truths  may  shine  with  new  lustre  ;  knowledge 
might  buttress  the  truth  with  facts  and  arguments  ;  im- 
agination might  clothe  the  Word  with  beauty,  so  as  to 
kindle  the  delight  and  awaken  the  emotions  of  hearers ; 
zeal  might  bring  system  and  efficiency  into  every  depart- 
ment of  ministerial  labor,  yet  these,  separated  from 
genuineness  and  goodness  of  character,  do  not  render 
one  a  good  minister  of  Christ. 

A  lawyer's  argument  in  a  court  of  law  is  not  vitiated 
because  the  speaker  may  be  an  unjust  and  wicked  man  ; 
there   is  no  connection  between  liis  professional  calling 


438  MEMOEIAL     TRIBUTES. 

and  his  moral  character.  A  physician  ministering  to 
the  sick  prescribes  his  remedies,  and  nothing  in  his 
character  or  bearing  can  possibly  change  the  effect  of 
his  prescription  on  the  health  of  the  patient.  But,  when 
we  come  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  we  find  that  the 
effect  of  spoken  trnth  is  dependent  on  the  character  of 
the  speaker.  The  truth  indeed,  is  as  shot  fired  from  a 
cannon ;  but  the  force  that  sends  it  forth  with  effect  lies 
hidden  in  the  heart  of  life. 

Reverence  for  the  dead  and  sorrow  at  their  departure, 
I  know,  dim  our  vision  as  to  faults  in  their  charac- 
ter, and  bring  into  vividness  virtues  that  had  been  hid- 
den through  life  ;  and  so  it  should  ever  be ;  scars  and 
flaws  and  blotches  make  deleterious  fare  on  which  to 
feed  our  eyes,  even  when  they  are  on  the  living,  how 
much  more  so  when  they  are  upon  the  dead.  Let  us  ever 
remember  that  infirmities  are  transient  and  will  pass  away; 
but  virtues  are  eternal.  Infirmities  are  the  accidents  of 
Christian  manhood  ;  virtues  are  woven  into  its  very  tex- 
ture. Infimities  are  the  lingering  traces  of  a  corrupt 
nature  fast  sinking  into  death  ;  virtues  are  signs  of  the 
germinating  and  budding  of  that  immortal  life  which 
Christ  gives  us,  and  which  will  grow  and  bloom  and 
ripen  in  the  after- world. 

But  it  is  one  of  our  chastened  joys  to-day  that  we  can 
trace  the  life  of  this  revered  friend  without  being  dis- 
turbed by  memories  of  glaring  faults  and  deficiencies. 
Often  we  have  to  forget,  to  forgive,  and  to  extenuate, 
while  we  speak  of  even  endeared  and  worthy  friends  ; 
but  it  is  our  privilege  to  review  a  life  which  suggests  no 
memories  but  which  are  pleasant,  ennobling,  and  assur- 
ing. To  pronounce  his  life  perfect  would  be  to  deny  that 
it  was  human  ;  but  to  say  that  it  was  pre-eminent  among 
other  lives,  is  only  to  give  it  the  tribute  which  it  merits. 
There  is  no  higher  eulogy  that  we  can  give  at  such  a  tiwe 


MISCELLANEOUS.  439 

as  this  than  to  say,  He  was  a  good  man  and  a  Christian. 
Intellectual  greatness,  social  distinction,  and  worldly 
success  will  elicit  praise  and  admiration  ;  but  it  is  good- 
ness which  compels  the  heart  to  render  the  homage  of  its 
affection, and  perpetuates  itself  in  the  loving  memories 
of  the  living. 

Dr.  Brantly^s  character  was  not  marked  by  any  one 
conspicuous,  overshadowing  excellency,  but  by  the 
blending  of  many  ;  so  that  there  was  symmetry  in  his 
life.  There  was  in  him  the  grace  of  proportion.  His 
life  was  orderly,  systematic,  harmonious  and  balanced. 
There  were  no  corners  and  crevices  and  angles  in  him. 
The  intellectual  did  not  overtop  the  moral  and  emotional. 
Strength  blended  with  gentleness.  Strictness  was  soft- 
ened by  charity.  Self-assurance,  which  is  an  element 
in  every  successful  life,  was  allied  with  humility.  Fervor 
was  controlled  by  sobriety.  He  was,  therefore,  not  an 
enthusiast,  but  an  earnest  man;  he  was  not  a  reformer 
sent  to  destroy,  but  a  wise  builder.  He  was  not  isolated 
from  his  fellow  men  by  reason  of  any  great,  extraordi- 
nary gift — like  a  high  mountain  peak  standing  apart 
from  the  lesser  hills — but  he  touched  them  at  many 
points,  and  walked  with  them  in  familiar  fellowship,  for 
he  had  so  much  in  common  with  other  men. 

II.  The  essential  elements  of  a  good  minister  are 
found  in  his  gifts  and  consecrations. 

His  wide  success  was  reached,  not,  by  one  particular 
gift — not  by  his  gift  of  utterance  alone,  not  by  his  pas- 
toral skill  alone,  not  by  his  scholarship  alone, — but  by 
his  varied  powers  and  devotion  working  in  harmony  to- 
wards one  specific  end.  His  sermons  instructed,  quick- 
ened, and  comforted  his  hearers;  never  perhaps  rising 
to  sublime  heights  in  eloquence,  and  never  falling  into 
weakness    or  commonplace  ;  thoughtful  and   graceful. 


440  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

spoken  with  benign  countenance,  and  couctiecl  in  ba^^py 
diction. 

Perhaps  he  owed  as  much  of  his  success  in  the  min- 
istry to  his  pastoral  gift,  as  to  his  pulpit.  In  fruitful- 
ness,  this  is  the  greater  gift  of  the  two,  and,  perhaps, 
the  rarer.  The  solid  abiding  work  in  the  church  is 
mostly  done  in  this  way.  Here  his  gracious  nature 
came  into  loving  contact  with  other  natures,  and  all  felt 
the  touch  of  a  holy  presence.  Two  needed  elements  for 
pastoral  work  are  the  power  of  sympathy  and  godly  con- 
versation ;  both  of  these  were  possessed  in  an  unusual 
degree  by  him.  Through  pastoral  work,  a  connection 
IS  established  between  the  preacher  and  the  hearer,  a 
connection  like  to  that  in  the  great  system  of  telephon- 
ing ;  the  living  voice  speaking  from  the  platform,  vi- 
brates in  the  hearer's  heart.  Xot  the  least  of  his  powers 
was  that  of  Christian  conversation.  One,  in  writing  to 
me  said  :  ''  It  almost  paid  to  be  sick  to  have  him  come 
to  see  you,  and  to  speak  of  Jesus,  and  pray  with  you." 

I  must  omit  speaking  of  other  elements  of  a  good 
minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  will  now  refer  to  his  work 
vvhile  pastor  of  this  church.   .  .   . 

His  peaceful.  Christlike  life  is  ended.  And  within 
five  brief  hours  after  the  Sabbath-evening  benediction 
fell  from  this  lips  he  opened  his  eyes  on  scenes  in  the 
eternal  world.  An  angel  fi'om  God  touched  the  mortal 
chains  that  held  him  liere,  and  his  spirit  rose,  ransomed 
and  liberated,  to  walk  in  the  light  of  God's  face.  The 
conflict  lasted  but  a  moment ;  his  spirit  quickly  yielded; 
and  with  a  meekness  already  possessed,  it  entered  upon 
the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light. 

It  was  a  sudden  death.  Some  may  covet  it,  dreading 
lingering  pain  and  wearisome  watchings  ;  some  may 
covet  it  to  escape  the  torment  of  fear;  some  call  it  the 
best  and  happiest  of  deaths.     "We  know  not,  except  this; 


MISCELLANEOUS.  441 

that  it  fills  the  mind  with  holy  awe.  So  near  the  other 
world  we  live  that  w^e  pass  the  dividing  line  in  so  brief  a 
time  ;  so  little  hold  we  have  on  hfe  that  in  a  thoughtless 
moment  it  drops  like  a  slender  thread  from  our  hand. 

''  Sudden  death/'  We  know  not  what  it  means  ;  we 
gauge  not  its  power  to  alarm  and  shake  the  soul,  unless 
some  fellow-pilgrim  has  fallen  at  our  side,  in  a  moment 
we  thought  not,  some  loved  one  hastened  away  without 
having  time  to  say  to  us  '^farewell/' 

He  passed  away  in  a  moment,  before  friends  could 
gather  to  witness  the  last  scene,  to  say  their  good-bye. 
Almost  in  the  twinkhng  of  an  eye,  his  spirit  ''glided 
into  the  company  of  the  great  and  mighty  angels,  passed 
into  the  dread  light  and  amazement  of  eternity,  learned 
the  great  secret,  and  gazed  upon  the  awful  splendors  of 
the  eternal  world.'' 

Your  friend  will  speak  to  you  no  more ;  his  last 
counsel  has  been  spoken,  his  last  visit  has  been  made. 
Yet  he  speaks.  There  are  echoes  of  his  words  still  in 
your  memories  ;  the  imprint  of  his  influence  is  on  your 
life.  Many  of  you  are  what  you  are  through  his  life 
and  teaching.  Some  of  you  were  brought  to  Christ  by 
him  ;  keep  his  memory  sacred  by  renewing  your  covenant 
with  his  Lord  to  day.  Some  of  you  walked  in  very  near 
and  tender  fellowship  with  him  ;  keep  remembrance  of 
him  by  cherishing  his  spirit  and  emulating  his  example. 

But  especially  do  I  look  on  some  of  you  to  whom  he 
preached  the  gospel  of  Clirist— and  ^readied  it  in  vain. 
By  personal  entreaty  and  public  address,  he  sought  to 
lead  you  to  the  Saviour,  and  he  sought  in  vain.  Twenty- 
five  years  have  flown,  and  j^ou  are  still  without  the  king- 
dom of  God,  with  the  accumulated  guilt  of  a  wasted  life 
and  of  perpetual  rejection  of  the  Son  of  God  upon  your 
head.      You  cherish  his  memory  with  tender  sorrow. 


413  MEMOUIAL     TRIBUTES. 

Do  iu)t  slight  his  Master,  do  not  refuse  his  testimony, 
for  ho  longed  after  you  as  '*a  good  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ/' 


A  STATESMAN. 

TIMES   OF    ^ilOlTRNING. 
REV.   ALEXANDKK    l-LKTCITER,   D.D. 

ON    OCCASION    OK    THK    OKATU    OK   TllK    LATK   SIR    ROBERT    PKKL, 

".I  iimv  io  mourn." — ECCLESIASTES  iii  :  4. 
''piIE  inspired  writer  of  this  Book  designates  himself 
'*  f/ic  Preacher."     The  Book  is  entitled  *'  the  words 
of  the  Pre:ielier.''     The  roval  author  was  Solomon,  the 
wisest  of  men. 

By  the  assistanee  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  I  shall,  first, 
mention  some  ehief  reasons  of  mourning;  secondly,  in- 
troduee  to  your  notiee  illustrious  men  presented  m  the 
lloly  Scripture,  over  whose  death  mourning  was  made  ; 
and  lastly,  some  remarks  on  the  sudden  death  of  our  il- 
lustrious statesman,  calculated  to  promote  our  mutual 
improvement. 

I.  Of  all  reasons  of  mourning,  sin  is  the  chief.  Our 
own  sins,  and  the  sins  of  others  ;  our  personal,  and  our 
family  sins  ;  our  sins  as  a.  church  and  congregation  ;  our 
sins  as  a  city,  and  as  a  nation,  loudly  denumd  our  peni- 
tence, our  mourning,  our  tears  I  In  mourning  over 
personal  sins,  may  Divine  grace  teach  us  to  follow  David 
as  a  pattern  !  Ohserve  Psalui  li  :  3,  4 — "'For  I  acknow- 
ledge my  transgressions  :  and  my  sin  is  ever  before  me. 
Against  Thee,  Thee  only  have  I  sinned,  and  done  this 
evil  in  Thy  sight  :  that  Thou  mightest  be  justified  when 
Thou  speakest,  and  clear  when  Thou  judgest.^' 

If  our  hearts  are  properly  atfected,  we  cannot  behold 
the  sins  of  otliers,  without   feelings  of  grief,  and  expres- 


.1//  ^(  r  I  i.AyKOl'S.  I. A 

sion5>  of  sorrow.  O.md  Siiid  (Psaliu  oxix),  '"'Kivors  of 
Avators  run  down  niino  ovos,  booaiiso  thov  kept  not  Thy 
law,  I  boliold  I  ho  tranjjgrossors,  and  was  griovod  :  ho- 
oauso  thoy  kopt  not  'V\\\  Word."  .loroniiah  hroathovl 
David's  spirit,  and  lio  also  shod  tloods  of  toars  ovor  tho 
sins  of  his  pooplo  and  nation. 

(^h  !  how  peculiarly  louiiiini;  woro  tlu*  uunirnful 
lamentations  whieh  our  Lord  uttered  over  sinful,  guilty, 
doomed  Jerusalem  !  Matthew  wiii  :  l>T.  ;>S.  "0  Jeru- 
salem." 

The  (ioifh  of  ir  la  ft  res  ealls  for  sorrow  aud  mournitii; 
Wlien  the  wife  is  tleprived  of  her  husband,  or  the  huev- 
band  of  his  wife  :  -when  parents  are  deprived  of  their 
children,  aiul  ehildren  of  their  parents; — when  bu-thers 
die.  or  sisters  are  reuioNini  by  death  ; — when  ministers 
are  taken  away  from  their  jH^^ple.  or  valuable  aetive 
ehureh  metnbers  laid  in  the  i;"ravc\  these  are  times  for 
mourning  and  sorrow  !  There  are  nun\y  in  this  assem- 
blv  in  mourning  over  departed  relativev^. 

When  ridalives  die.  without  leaving  bi^hind  any  evi- 
dei\ee  of  their  safety  in  a  future  world.  o\\  I  it  is  partie- 
nlarly  a  tinuMo  mourn  !  Absalom  died  a  dt^praved  rebel, 
thirsting  even  for  his  fatluu-'s  bKuvl.  Nevcu*.  never  ilid 
father  nu>urn  over  the  death  of  ;»  graeeless  son.  as  lu>ly 
l^avid  nu>urned  over  the  death  of  Absalom.  ^  Samuel 
wiii  :  J>l>. 

11.  Eminent  saints  mentioned  in  scripture,  over  whose 
death  mourniuij  was  made. 

Jaeob  when  dying  was  (Evidently  eneireled  with  a 
luilo  of  ghu-y  I  After  he  had  ptuired  oni  propluMie  bless 
iugs  on  the  head  of  his  twelvt^  sons,  in  legnlar  onler.  t>ne 
by  one,  with  the  uiuu.st  eompi^sure.  "  \\c  gathered  up 
his  feet  into  the  bed.  atul  yielded  up  tlu^  ghost,  and  was 
gathered  unto  his  peophv"  dosi>ph.  more  than  all  his 
brethren.     nu)uriUHi    over    his    beloved    father's    death. 


Ui  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

Genesis  1  :  1 — ^^  And  Joseph  fell  upon  his  father's  face, 
and  wept  upon  him,  and  kissed  him/'  To  show  the 
veneration  in  which  the  memory  of  this  departed 
patriarch  was  held,  "the  Egyptians  mourned  for  him 
threescore  and  ten  days."  When  Jacob  died,  his  sons 
had  reason  to  say  in  the  language  of  the  psalmist  (Psalm 
xii :  1),  '^  Help  Lord  ;  for  the  godly  man  ceaseth  ;  for  the 
faithful  fail  from  among  the  children  of  men  V  Moses 
life  from  its  commencement  to  its  close,  was  certainly 
unexampled  ;  from  the  time  of  Lis  appearance  as  a  babe 
in  the  ark  of  bulrushes,  to  his  position  on  the  summit  of 
Pisgah,  when  his  spirit  took  its  flight  to  the  glories  of 
heaven.  Before  his  departure  to  the  heavenly  Canaan, 
God  gave  him  a  j^anoramic,  and  we  may  add,  miraculous 
prospect  of  the  earthly  Canaan,  *^the  goodly  heritage  of 
the  host  of  nations."  When  he  saw  the  fairest  and 
I'ichest  portion  of  the  globe,  which  Israel  was  destined 
soon  to  possess,  he  instantly  dropped  down  dead.  The 
Jews  sa}^,  "  with  a  kiss  from  the  mouth  of  God  !" 
Happy  expression,  descriptive  of  a  death,  most  happy 
and  honored  and  blessed  ! 

There  was  great  mourning  at  his  death.  ^'^  And  the 
children  of  Israel  wept  for  Moses  in  the  plains  of  Moab, 
thirty  days." 

Stephen.  His  early,  sudden,  violent,  cruel  death 
called  forth  great  and  unfeigned  lamentation.  Acts  viii: 
2 — "  And  devout  men  carried  Stephen  to  his  burial,  and 
made  great  lamentation  over  him."  Certainly,  speaking 
after  the  manner  of  men,  the  church  sustained  an  im- 
mense loss,  by  the  death  of  Stephen,  the  Proto-martyr ! 
His  qualifications  for  the  holy  ministry,  were  of  a  dis- 
tinguished character,  and  in  a  distinguished  degree.  He 
was"  eminently,  a  most  gifted  servant  of  Christ,  both  as 
to  natural  talents,  and  as  to  Divine  graces.  His  labors 
^xre  attended  with  the  most  marked  success^  whicl:^  ex- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  445 

cited  the  enmity  of  the  adversaries  of  the  Cross,  and 
accelerated  his  death.  His  course  was  short.  There  is 
no  evidence  that  it  lasted  so  long  as  twelve  months.  The 
church  could  ^^ill  spare''  a  man,  a  saint,  a  minister  of 
such  piety,  such  zeal,  such  usefulness. 

When  Stephen  was  removed  by  death,  the  mourning 
church  found  great  reason  to  pray  to  its  Divine  Head 
and  Saviour,  *^Help  Lord,  for  the  godly  man  ceaseth 
and  the  faithful  fail  from  among  the  children  of  men  !" 

III.  Our  illustrious  statesman. 

He  was  born  in  Lancashire^  on  the  fifth  of  July,  1788, 
during  the  very  heat  of  the  first  French  Revolution, 
when  the  thrones  and  dynasties  of  Europe  were  threat- 
ened with  extinction. 

His  talents,  learning,  industry,  persevering  activity, 
studious  and  contemplative  habits,  varied  and  extensive 
experience  crowned  with  commanding  senatorial  elo- 
quence, qualified  him  for  filling  with  honor  to  himself, 
and  especially  with  benefit  to  his  country,  the  highest 
ofiices  of  the  State. 

He  had  a  large  share  of  the  amiable  virtues. 

It  is  with  great  satisfaction  that  I  record  the  following 
circumstance.  It  was  the  practice  of  Sir  Robert,  be- 
fore leaving  home  for  the  House  of  Commons,  regularly 
to  enter  his  closet,  and  supplicate  Divine  counsel  and 
assistance.  This  leads  us  to  conclude,  that  the  mind  of 
this  eminent  statesman  was  not  only  adorned  with 
natural  virtues,  but  enriched  with  grace.  True  Religion 
alone  teaches  "  to  acknoAvledge  Him  in  all  our  ways,"who 
has  promised  "to  direct  our  steps.''     (Proverbs  iii :  6.) 

Few  men  have  been  held  in  such  universal  esteem. 
Throughout  the  whole  land  there  is  an  excitement  man- 
ifested by  a  determination  to  raise  memorials  in  every 
part  of  our  Island,  as  lasting  testimonies  of  the  nation's 
respect. 


446  MEMORIAL      TRtBUTSS. 

We  must  not  omit  to  observe  that  our  departed  states- 
man had  a  deep-rooted  aversion  to  worldly  pomp,  and 
every  description  of  gorgeous  ostentation.  He  has  left 
an  admonition  to  his  descendants,  never  to  accept  of 
the  honors  of  the  peerage,  as  a  reward  for  any  services, 
however  great,  which  they  may  be  enabled  to  render 
their  country. 

The  statesman's  abode  was  a  temple  consecrated  to 
the  worship  of  God.  Family  worship  was  regularly  ob- 
served^ and  the  head  of  the  household  acted  himself  as 
chaplain  and  priest.  Psalm  cxviii:  15 — ^^The  voice  of 
rejoicing  and  salvation  is  in  the  tabernacles  of  the 
righteous." 

He  has  earned  the  honor,  and  the  title  of  patriot. 
The  cheap  loaf  of  bread  in  loudest  sweetest  accents  pro- 
claims his  patriotism.  While  his  memory  lives,  he  shall 
be  held  in  admiration  as  the  poor  man's  friend.  How 
true  of  the  merciful  patriot, 

'*  Compassion  dwells  upon  his  mind, 
To  works  of  mercy  still  incliu'd: 
He  lends  the  poor  some  present  aid, 
Or  gives  them  not  to  be  repaid." 

HL  death.  The  event  was  sudden  and  unexpected. 
It  was  by  a  fall  from  his  horse.  In  the  very  meridian  of 
his  mental  vigor,  activity  and  usefulness,  he  was  re- 
moved by  the  hand  of  death.  He  had  labored  long, 
and  much,  and  usefully.  But  his  time  was  come,  his 
work  was  done.  Britain's  God  had  no  more  work  for 
him  to  perform.  And  now,  amidst  a  nation's  mournful, 
thankful,  and  affectionate  remembrance,  he  "  rests  from 
his  labors,  and  his  works  do  follow  him."  (Rev.  xiv:  13.) 

Concluding  reflections.  This  event  calls  on  us  to 
sympathize  with  the  excellent  surviving  widow  who  sus- 
tains an  earthly  loss  that  can  never  be  made  up  in  this 


Miscellaneous.  447 

vvorld.  Oh,  may  she  cleave  to  Jesus  as  her  everlasting 
Husband,  who  is  willing  to  comfort  her  under  this  heavy 
bereavement,  by  the  consolations  of  his  Gospel,  and  the 
blessings  of  His  fellowship  ! 

"He  sympathizes  with  our  grief, 
And  to  the  mourner  sends  relief." 

This  dispensation  calls  upon  us  to  adore  the  sovereign- 
ty of  God.  Let  us  say  in  the  words  of  the  Chaldean 
monarch — (Dan.  iv:  35) — ''^  None  can  stay  His  hand, 
or  say  unto  him,  what  doest  Thou  T' 

Is  human  life  so  uncertain  ?  In  the  very  midst  of 
life,  are  we  in  death  ?  Then,  what  wisdom  to  be  in 
readiness  at  our  Lord^s  call ! 

Have  we  fled  for  mercy  to  Jesus  ?  Oh  !  let  us  say 
now,  and  may  the  Holy  Spirit  enable  us,  '^  Tflee  unto 
Thee  to  hide  me.^^     (Psalm  cxliii:  9.) 

Slumbering  sinner,  flee  !  Escape  for  your  life.  If  you 
flee  noio  to  Jesus,  your  salvation  is  sure.  If  you  delay, 
your  perdition  may  be  sealed  !  How  sweet  the  voice  of 
mercy.  ''  Come  unto  me  all  ye  who  are  weary  and  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  (Matt,  xi:  28.)  ^'Him 
that  Cometh  unto  Me  I  will  no  wise  cast  out."  (John 
vi:  37.) 

It  is  my  affectionate  wish  and  earnest  prayer,  that 
when  we  are  removed  to  the  world  of  spirits,  the  follow- 
ing most  lovely  and  animating  words  may  be  applicable 
to  us  all — (Rev.  xiv  :  23) — ''Blessed  are  the  dead, 
which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth  :  yea,  saith  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors  ;  and  their 
works  do  follow  them."     Amek  ! 


44S  MEMORIAL     TR1BUTM8. 


A  CALAMITY  AT  SEA.* 

EEV.    S.    R.  CATTLEY,  M.  A.,   ENGLAND. 

WITH  SOME  NOTICE  OF  THE  DEATH  OF  WILLIAM  SEKELTON,  ESQ.,  FIFTY-THREE 
YEARS  A  DIRECTOR  OF  THE  ORPHAN  ASYLUM, 

"  And  all  flesh  shall  see  that  I  the  Lord  ham  kindled  it ;  it  shall  not 
he  quenched. — Ezeklel  xx  :  48. 

/^COASIONAL  references  to  some  of  the  passing 
^^  events  of  life  produce  more  lasting  effects  npon  the 
mind  than  eloquent^  and  persuasive  exhortations  to  holi- 
ness, or  lucid  disquisitions  upon  the  doctrines  of  the  gos- 
pel. Exhortations,  however  powerful,  cease  to  excite, 
— doctrine,  however  forcibly  illustrated,  fails  to  interest 
the  soul.  But  when  we  contemplate  an  event  of  Provi- 
dence, w§  feel  that  we  ourselves  might  have  been  its 
actors ;  that  we  might  have  recently  occupied  the  alarm- 
ing position  of  those  of  our  fellow-creatures  who  were  so 
circumstanced,  that  their  choice  of  death  was  of  two 
kinds,  and  those  two  kinds  the  most  terrible.  The 
choice  lay  between  a  deep  and  salt  sea  wave,  or  a  fierce 
and  agonizing  flame. 

This  accident,  in  which  many  of  our  countrymen 
have  perished,  and  which  has  produced  such  a  convul- 
sion of  feeling,  that  "all  faces  from  the  south  to 
the  north"'  may  be  said  to  be '^  burned  therein."  It 
seems  therefore  desirable,  that  we  should  turn  aside  this 
morning,  and  contemplate  such  a  sad  spectacle,  especially 
tracing  the  event  alluded  to  its  great  and  mysterious 
Source,  and  endeavoring  to  derive  such  profit  as  a  merci- 
ful God  has  ordained  that  it  should  afford. 

The  public  channels  of  intelligence  will  already  have 
informed  you,  that,  on  Thursday  week,  the  ship  "  Ocean 

*  The  "  Ocean  Monarch  "  burned  at  sea  with  nearly  400  lives. 


MT8  CELLANEO  US.  44? 

Monarcli^*  safely  left  the  Mersey  and  sailed  for  America. 
Her  passengers,  most  of  them,  were  emigrants.  Thi? 
class  of  persons  surely  demand  alike  our  sympathy,  oui 
best  wishes,  our  sincere  prayers.  In  their  native  land 
they  have  too  frequently  felt  the  pressure  of  poverty.  At 
home  the  times  are  li;ird,  prospects  gloomy,  friends  are 
few  !  Sad  perhaps  at  first,  but  rendered  familiar  b_y 
necessity,  and  the  pressure  of  pecuniary  difficulties,  the 
proposal  to  leave  their  land  becomes  the  mournful  sub- 
ject of  their  discourse.  Necessity  decides  the  question  ! 
They  collect  the  remnants  of  their  once  comfortable 
fortune — all  at  home  is  hopeless  ;  all  beyond  the  sea,  at 
least  is  uncertain,  and  may  be  prosperous.  They  and 
their  children  join  the  crowded  ship — the  last  affection- 
ate embrace,  and  the  last  heart-felt  benedictions  are 
given  and  received  with  friends  on  shore  ;  the  anchor  ia 
weighed  ;  the  expanding  canvass  invites  the  breeze  :  and 
the  emigrants  seek  in  the  new  world,  and  in  strange  and 
foreign  lands,  that  provision  denied  them  in  their  own  ; 
though  still  enjoying  that  privilege,  of  which  circum- 
stances and  situation  cannot  deprive  them — '^ being  heirs 
together  of  the  grace  of  life.''^ 

And  what  are  we  all  but  emigrants  ?  What  is  our  land 
but  one,  which,  if  we  would  make  it  our  home,  and  if  we 
would  enjoy  all  its  good  things,  it  will  be  but  for  a  short 
season  ;  and  all  those  good  things  are  incapable  of  afford- 
ing permanent  relief.  Do  we  never  feel  this  ?  Though 
earth  be  the  place  of  our  nativity,  it  is  neither  our  native 
home,  nor  a  state  that  can  satisfy  our  souls.  This  home 
must  perish.  Its  honors,  hopes,  riches,  crowns,  sceptres, 
all  must  fail  !  Oh  !  why  then  do  we  struggle  against 
impossibilities ;  and  try  to  attain  here,  that  which  only 
belongs  to  another  country,  a  new  and  eternal  state  ? 

And  if  we  are  emigrants,  you  see  buiided  for  your  trans- 
mission over  life's  troubled -ci,  !'int  spiritual  ship,  that 


450  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

ark  of  Christ's  church,  in  which  you  have  been  recognizi-ci 
by  baptism  !  That  ark  is  composed  of  Christ  and  His  mem- 
bers all  fitly  framed  together,  a  habitation  of  safety.  Ce- 
mented with  love,  united  in  hope,  preserved  in  redemp- 
tion, this  spiritual  ark  has  ever  sheltered  one  blessed  fam- 
ily of  the  faithful.  Attach  yourselves  to  the  real  members 
of  this  communion  :  bid  farewell  to  many  things  which 
you  have  made  your  friends  :  your  sins  ;  your  tempta- 
tions ;  your  anxieties  ;  and  your  over-careful  mind  ; — 
much  which  human  nature  esteems,  and  much  which 
human  infirmity  loves  ; — this  day  come  thou  and  all  the 
house  into  the  ark,  and  with  Christ  as  the  '^  Captain  of 
your  salvation,"  emigrate  ^'to  a  better  country,  even  a 
heave  nly.'^ 

^' Watch  and  be  ready  !"  Are  there  not  some  liere, 
whose  prospects  are  equally  fair  as  were  those  of  the 
''  Ocean  Monarch  V  You  are  saying,  "  the  wide  and 
varied  sea  of  life  is  before  me  ;  I  am  happy  ;  my  bark  is 
trimmed  ;  my  sails  are  filled  ;  I  feel  life's  breezes  wafting 
me  on  ;  admiring  eyes  and  friendly  salutations  accom- 
pany me  ;  I  will  bound  from  wave  to  wave,  from  joy  to 
joy  ;  I  care  not  for  the  future  ;  the  present  happy  mo- 
ments are  enough  for  me  !" 

Some  of  us,  perhaps,  have  been  startled  by  similar 
alarms  from  our  midnight  slumbers.  Terrible  it  is  to 
see  and  here  the  raging  and  crackling  enemy,  consum- 
ing, with  relentless  power,  the  house  which  was  once 
our  home,  and  the  rooms  in  which  we  had  passed  such 
happy  days.  But  far  more  terrible  is  it,  without  a  hand 
to  aid,  or  a  neighbor  to  shelter  us,  to  stand  upon  the  deck 
of  a  crowded  ship,  and  see  the  livid  and  curling  streams, 
ascending  from  below,  and  shrouding  in  a  canopy  of  fire 
the  fair  white  sails,  the  heavy  and  threatening  spars,  and 
the  once  beautiful  network  above.  At  such  a  moment 
all  thoughts  and  recollections  seem  to  vanish  in  the  des- 


MISCELLANEOUS.  451 

pairing  reality  of  the  present.  The  ocean  around,  the 
heated  and  blazing  deck,  alike  bespeak  approaching 
death  ;  and  approaching  death  consumes  the  mind  with 
indescribable  dismay  !  That  fear  of  death  is  twofold. 
The  dying  agony  from  fire  or  water  to  the  gasping  and 
writhing  body,  and  the  fear  of  that  future  doom,  arising 
from  the  consciousness  of  sin,  which  fire  could  not  purify, 
and  water  could  not  purge. 

The  bravest  would  be  pallid  at  such  a  moment.  Even 
the  resigned  and  sincere  Christian  could  not  fail  to  en- 
ter into  the  terrors  of  the  calamity  ;  and  though  he 
woul  feel,  ''I  the  Lord  have  done  it,''  and  though  he 
would  bow  to  God's  high  and  mysterious  decree,  yet  who 
would  not  feel  that  it  were  sweeter  '*^to  sleep  in  Jesus," 
in  a  calmer  death,  and  leave  the  world  in  peace,  than  to 
sink  amid  the  terrible  cries  of  the  dying,  with  no  friend 
to  soothe  our  pillow  :  or  perish  in  the  flame,  with  none 
to  moisten  our  parched  lips  ? 

We  might  have  been  actors  in  the  calamity  of  the 
^'  Ocean  Monarch,"  but  we  must  be  actors  in  that  great 
shipwreck  of  creation,  and  participate  in  its  glories  and 
its  grandeurs,  or  in  its  sorrows  and  its  sighs.  Let  us  be  as 
eager  for  our  soul's  salvation,  as  the  poor  sufferers  in  that 
ship,  were  for  their  lives  !  Remember  how  eagerly  they 
strived  to  save  themselves — what  energy — what  effort — 
what  frenzy  !  Mothers  cast  their  children  to  the  waves  ; 
or  leaped  from  the  burning  ruin  with  their  infants  em- 
braced in  their  arms  ;  husbands,  whom  affection  could 
not  separate  from  those  they  loved,  wildly  followed  their 
frantic  wives.     .     .     . 

Our  late  venerated  friend  William  Skelton  was  an 
example  of  activity  and  industry.  From  very  early  years 
he  excelled  in  the  execution  of  works  of  art ;  and  his 
masterly  hand  may  be  traced  in  those  numerous  engrav- 
inofs  which   v,-ill  Ion"'  commemorate  his  talents.     xVs  liis 


452  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

frame  was  unbent  by  years,  so  his  eye  retained  its  power, 
and  his  hand  its  nerve  ;  so  that,  within  a  short  period  of 
his  death,  he  passed  many  hours  of  his  blessed  and 
tranquil  life,  in  the  use  of  his  graver  and  his  pen- 
cil! 

He  was  also  an  example  of  friendship  and  kindness. 
He  entered  with  peculiar  pleasure  into  the  employments 
and  amusements  of  the  children  of  this  Asylum.  The 
records  of  the  Charity  show,  that,  during  his  long  life, 
his  contributions  from  time  to  time,  have  been  very  con- 
siderable. When  in  his  eighty-fifth  year  he  was  a  fre- 
quent and  welcome  visitor  in  society,  walking  to  the  re- 
sidences of  his  most  distant  friends.  At  my  own  fireside, 
I  have  witnessed  the  ready  and  lively  interest  which  he 
took  in  the  affairs  of  manhood,  or  the  merry  joys  of 
children.  And  he  was  much  esteemed  by  the  elder  mem- 
bers of  the  illustrious  house  of  Hanover,  all  of  whose 
portraits,  I  believe,  he  delineated  ! 

But  above  ail,  he  was  an  example  of  quiet  and  un- 
pretending practical  religion.  His  faith  was  manifested 
in  actions,  not  in  words.  His  own  home,  little  known 
to  the  world,  was  one  in  which  godliness,  kindness, 
charity,  and  purity  predominated  !  His  views  and  con- 
versations upon  religious  subjects  were  clear  ;  but  he  was 
diffident  and  humble  ;  and  on  holy  things,  his  feelings 
were  deep,  his  words  were  few  !  His  latter  years,  like 
his  protracted  life,  smiled  in  peace  and  friendship  ;  he 
was  mercifully  permitted  to  enjoy  the  heaped-up  measure 
of  his  fourscore  years,  exempt  from  "labor  and  sorrow.^' 
He  thanked  God  for  it ;  till,  his  long,  healthy,  regular, 
and  contented  life  was  shaken  by  a  sudden  seizure,  from 
which  he  nearly  recovered  ;  but  a  repetition  of  which, 
closed  his  days,  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  "  in  a  good  old 
age,  and  full  of  years, '^ 

Such  was  the  end  of  our  departed  friend.     With  it  I 


MISCELLANEOUS.  453 

gladly  close,  in   happy   contrast,   the   exciting  subject 
which  has  principally  occupied  our  attention  ! 

But  let  us  *' watch,"  and  *'  be  ready  :"  so  that,  when 
our  voyage  is  over,  and  we  are  cast  upon  the  shore  of  an 
eternal  state,  in  the  mingled  and  awful  wreck  of  this 
world,  we  may  be  prepared  to  commit  ourselves  into  the 
ocean  of  G-od's  mercy ;  or,  if  weak  and  wavering  in  that 
trying  moment,  we  may  be  able  to  seize  upon  some  of 
the  promises  of  the  Gospel,  or  support  our  souls  with 
some  of  the  assurances  of  grace,  that  so,  as  they  of  old 
did,  *'  some  on  boards,  and  some  on  broken  pieces  of  the 
ship,"  we  may  all  ^^  escape  safe  to  land^'  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord  !    Amen. 


A  COAL  MINE  CALAMITY.* 

THE  MYSTERIES  OF  PROVIDEN^CE. 
REV.  T.  BINKEY,  E:N^GLAND. 
"  Thy  judgments  are  a  great  deep.'' — Psalm  xxxvi :  6. 
T\7'E  were  lately  called  to  sympathize  with  our  Queen, 
and  we  are  doing  it  yet ;  our  sympathy  is  as  real 
and  as  deep  at  this  moment  as  ever,  though  it  may  not 
have  such  public  and  visible  expression  :  and  now  that 
illustrious  mourner,  that  Royal  widow,  is  summoned  by 
God,  with  us,  to  sympathize  with  the  humble  and  lowly, 
who  in  such  numbers  have  been  made  widows  and  father- 
less. I  don't  know  that  we  could  do  better  this  morning 
than  meditate  a  little  upon  this  event,  with  which  you 
are  all  familiar.  Anything  that  will  soften  the  heart, 
anything  that  overcomes  our  selfishness,  anything  that 
makes  us  think  of  others  and  feel  for  them,  is  medicinal 
and  for  our  good. 

*  By  the  breaking  of  a  coal  mine  shaft,  W  ?pen  are  suffocated. 


154  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

The  catastrophe  is  such  a  one  as  never  happened  be- 
fore. Many  disasters  have  happened  in  coal  mines,  hut 
the  present  was  something  very  extraordinary.  There 
was  no  preparation.  Sometimes  men  have  reason  to  ap- 
prehend danger.  Women  have  to  see  them  go  to  their 
work  under  the  consciousness  of  some  special  peril,  wiiich 
has  to  be' braved  ;  and  then  there  is  tremulous  apprehen- 
sion, and  a  sort  of  preparation  for  anything  that  may 
occur.  It  was  not  so  here.  There  were  no  special  cir- 
cumstances— nothing  to  excite  apprehension  ;  the  men 
and  boys  had  finished  their  work,  and  were  about  to  re- 
turn to  their  homes,  when  they  were  suddenly  over- 
taken by  this  terrible  event,  and  those  who  waited  to 
welcome  them  are  now  widows  and  orphans.  There  was 
apparently  nothing  but  the  ordinary  peril  of  a  miner's 
life,  which  custom  makes  to  be  thought  but  little  of. 
AVhen  soldiers  and  sailors  go  to  war  people  are  prepared 
to  hear  that  many  of  them  are  killed — they  expect  to 
learn  of  a  battle  and  its  results  ;  and  so  there  is  a  tremu- 
lous anxiety,  which  is  a  preparation.  There  was  nothing 
of  that  sort  here.  Suddenly  there  was  a  crash,  and  then 
a  fearful  rumor  spread  from  house  to  house  along  the 
row  of  little  habitations,  and  women  and  children 
were  seen  hurrying  out,  wondering  and  anxious  to  know 
what  had  really  occurred. 

Then  came  a  long  and  terrible  period  of  suspense. 
The  obstacle  could  not  be  got  through. 

At  length  the  mine  is  penetrated,  discovery  made, 
and  intelligence  brought  up.  ''Well."  ''All  dead. 
All  dead;  lying  dead  in  groups."  "Did  you  see 
John  ?"  "I  saw  him  with  the  three  boys,  all  lying  to- 
gether. They  seemed  perfectly  calm."  And  so  one  after 
another  was  indicated.  The  men  went  down  again,  and 
the  awful  truth  was  confirmed — "  not  a  single  man  or 
boy  alive ;"    men  and    lads,    husbands,    fathers,  sons, 


3nSGELLANE0U8.  455 

nejihews,  grandsons,  all  dead  ;  apparently  having  died 
more  from  the  noxious  gases  than  from  anything  else. 
Most  of  them  seemed  to  have  died  calmly  ;  but  some 
strong  men  bore  upon  them  the  marks  of  intense  agony, 
as  if  to  the  very  last  there  had  been  with  them  a 
desperate  struggle  for  life.  But  they  were  all  dead. 
*^  Tiiy  judgments  are  a  great  dcep.^^ 

Why  there  should  be  suiFering  and  sorrow  in  the 
world  has  been,  you  know,  a  question  pressing  upon 
humanity  in  all  ages.  If  God  be  omnipotent,  why  ? 
If  Gocl  be  benevolent,  why  ?  If  there  be  a  God  at  all, 
why  ?  Eead  the  oldest  book  in  the  Bible,  and  you  find 
a  constant  argument  upon  these  mysterious,  deep,  and 
dark  judgments,  and  how  to  reconcile  them  with  just 
conceptions  of  Deity  and  of  providence.  Into  the  ques- 
tion of  moral  evil,  the  existence  of  sin,  we  will  not  go ; 
but  it  may  be  remarked,  that  much  physical  evil  is  the 
direct  issue  of  sin.  There  are  many  forms  of  suffering 
in  the  world  that  would  not  be  here  but  for  sin;  yet 
there  are  other  cases,  like  the  present,  that  seem  to  have 
no  relation  to  moral  evil,  being  separated  entirely  from 
the  will  of  any  man  ;  and  are  what  we  call  accidents,^^ 
or  the  '^'^  visitations  of  God."  The  anti-supernatural ist 
may  be  found  objecting  to  our  Bible  lecause  it  contains 
so  much  that  is  mysterious ;  but  we  would  say  to  him, 
"  There  is  as  much  that  is  mysterious  in  your  Bible  as 
there  is  in  ours."  Suppose  him  to  be  one  who  believes  in 
a  personal  God,  a  personal  Governor  of  the  world,  and 
he  says,  *'*  I  cannot  receive  your  Bible  because  I  read  in 
that  book  such  extraordinary  things,  about  what  God 
has  done  and  said,  that  I  am  shocked."  My  dear  friend, 
have  you  read  your  own  Bible  ?  Do  you  meet  with  no 
mysteries  there  ?  Can  you  understand  all  the  pages  and 
passages  in  it  ?  Are  there  no  terrible  facts  occurring  on 
the  surface  of  this  earth  ?    Is  everything  that  happens 


456  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

"«n  harmony  with  your  conceptions  of  a  benevolent 
Governor  ?  Would  you  allow  that  gallant  vessel  to  be 
dashed  to  pieces  on  those  rocks  ?  Would  you  have  per- 
mitted twenty  tons  of  iron  to  descend  the  shaft  of  that 
pit  ?  Your  God  did  not  prevent  it ;  the  God  of  your 
Book — the  only  Book  you  acknowledge — this  world.  It 
is  not  a  fine  and  beautiful  page  always.  You  may  talk 
about  fruits  and  flowers,  and  admire  them,  but  do  not 
shut  your  eyes  to  the  great  and  terrible  facts  that  con- 
front you.  Do  you  pretend  that  your  Bible,  the  Book  of 
Nature,  will  explain  these  things  ?  I  do  not  tell  you 
that  I  have  got  a  Bible  to  explain  all  these  things.  I 
have  got  a  Bible  to  teach  me  a  great  deal  more  and  some- 
thing higher;  and  it  may  be  that  the  Bible  comes  to  me 
with  parallel,  and  analogous  things  in  it  just  that  I  may 
understand  and  know  that  it  comes  from  the  same  God 
— that  the  Creator  of  the  world  is  the  speaker  in  the 
Book  ;  and  that  it  is  for  me  to  listen  and  to  obtain  the 
higher  revelation.  And  perhaps  through  that  1  shall 
come  to  understand  the  mystery.  In  reading  the  one 
book  or  the  other,  we  had  better  just  stand  dumb  and 
thoughtful,  endeavoring  to  extract  from  the  great 
mystery  a  religious  advantage.  There  are  things  which 
we  cannot  comprehend  by  our  understanding,  but  in 
which  we  may  acquiesce  by  faith. 

Of  course  we  can  understand  that  the  world  is 
governed  by  great  general  laws.  Great  general  principles 
and  laws  arc  ever  at  work,  and  we  may  depend  upon  it 
that  they  will  not  be  suspended  for  us.  There  is  a  young 
mother  on  a  beautiful  spring  morning,  sitting  there  by 
an  open  window ;  she  is  looking  at  and  enjoying  the 
landscape — and  something  far  more  lovely  than  that,  for 
she  has  her  beautiful  baby,  her  first-born  upon  her  arm. 
She  turns  her  eyes  for  a  moment,  and  the  little  child, 
chirping  aiu]  o^-^^i^i^:'.  makes  a  suddei).  movement,  and  is 


MISCELLANEOUS.  457 

out  at  tlie  window  ;  it  falls  down  upon  tlic  pavement  be- 
low, and  is  picked  up  bleeding  and  mangled — maimed 
for  life  !  If  you  had  been  the  Governor  of  the  world, 
with  your  particular  affections,  with  your  attention  to 
the  little,  and  the  individual,  you  would  have  interfered 
to  save  the  child.  God  could  have  done  it,  but  that 
would  have  been  a  miracle — that  would  have  been  to 
govern  the  world  upon  the  principle  of  miracle.  But 
the  law  exists,  and  it  must  act,  in  spite  of  everything. 
If  the  twelve  apostles  were  walking  upon  a  railway 
when  the  train  was  rushing  along  it  would  go  over  them 
if  they  did  not  get  out  of  the  way,  and  the  whole  twelve 
apostles  would  be  crushed  to  atoms.  God  would  not  in- 
terfere. You  are  to  understand,  then,  that  that  is  the 
general  law.  If  we  go  back  to  the  question,  ^^Why 
should  things  be  so  constituted  ?'^  we  may  ask  further, 
''Why  should  there  be  a  world  like  this  at  all?" 
Enough  for  us,  however,  to  know  that  it  is  so.  But  we 
believe  that  along  with  these  general  laws  there  is  a  place 
for  prayer,  there  is  a  sphere  for  God^s  agency  ;  but  Ave 
are  to  remember  that  there  is  a  constant  operation  of 
these  laws.  If  every  time  we  got  into  danger  or  trouble 
there  was  to  be  a  Divine  interposition — as  a  poor,  silly, 
indulgent  mother  always  comes  in  between  the  child 
and  the  consequence  of  its  fault — we  should  never  be 
anything. 

Hence  we  can  understand  the  great  lesson  of  our 
Lord,  when  he  said  to  those  that  told  him  of  the  Galile- 
ans, whose  blood  Pilate  had  mingled  with  there  sacrifices, 
'"^  Suppose  ye  that  they  were  sinners  above  all  the  Gali- 
leans, because  they  suffered  such  things  ?  Or  those 
eighteen  upon  whom  the  tower  in  Siloam  fell  and  slew 
them,  think  ye  that  they  were  sinners  above  all  men 
tliat  dwelt  in  Jerusalem  ?"  No ;  they  were  staiiding 
there  when  the  tower  fell,  and  they  were  killed  ;  it  would 
20 


458  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

have  been  the  same  whether  they  were  saints  or  sinners. 
We  are  not  to  judge  of  G-od  as  if  the  calamities  that 
happen  to  men  were  indications  of  peculiar  Divine  senti- 
ments, and  were  judgments  upon  individuals.  But  these 
things  may  well  teach  us  our  own  littleness,  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  humility,  that  we  may  have  to  adore  where  we 
cannot  comprelierid.  '*  His  judgments  are  a  great  deep/' 
which  we  cannot  fathom,  and  yet,  when  we  look  up  our 
religious  faith  may  help  us  to  say,  in  the  words  that  im- 
mediately precede  these,  "  Thy  righteousness  is  like  the 
mountains  f  our  consciousness  of  the  rectitude  of  God 
stands  out  like  the  mountains  in  the  sun,  visible  even  in 
spite  of  this  dark  tumultuous  ocean  wliich  wc  cannot 
fathom.  We  are  sure  that  there  is  a  God  who  ruleth  and 
governeth,  whatever  the  mysteries  that  may  surround 
his  operations.  Hence  you  have  religious  faith.  You 
have  it  in  Job,  when  he  says,  ''  Though  he  slay  me, 
yet  will  I  trust  in  him."  There  is  the  child's  heart 
uttering  itself  from  beneath  the  man's  understanding. 
Though  his  understanding  was  perplexed  and  baffled,  his 
faith  remained  firm.  You  hear  it  in  David.  Was  there 
ever  anything  sublimer  in  this  world  than  that  little 
sentence  of  David — which  may  teach  us  all  to  look  at 
distress,  calamity,  and  the  terrible  judgments  of  God — 
''  I  was  dumb,  I  opened  not  my  mouth,  because  thou 
didst  it"?  I  cannot  understand  it,  I  cannot  comprehend 
it  ;  if  I  was  to  open  my  mouth  at  all  I  should  speak  fool- 
ishly. It  is  to  me  a  great  deep,  and  so  I  will  lay  my 
hand  upon  my  mouth,  and  be  dumb,  for  it  is  God  :  Tliou 
didst  it.  Ah,  there  is  the  sublimity  of  religious  faith-  - 
the  universe  is  not  a  machine.  It  is  not  a  number  of 
wheels  grinding  out  its  results,  without  feeling,  without 
thought,  without  i)urpose,  and  giinding  me  in  the  midst 
of  them.  No.  Thou — a  personality  with  feeling,  thought, 
purpose,  my  Father — "  Thou  didst  it."  And  I  will  wait 


3ns  GELLANE  0  US.  459 

till  the  time  comes  wlieu  in  Thy  light  I  shall  see  light — 
shall  know  what  I  know  not  now — and  my  mouth  shall 
then  he  opened  with  praise  and  adoration,  because  Thou 
hast  done  all  things  well.  You  hear  this  sentiment  of 
religious  faith  again  in  Asaph.  He  was  sadly  perplexed 
once.  The  poor  man  was|)lunged  into  a  great  deep,  and 
he  thought  he  would  find  the  bottom,  but  he  only  sank 
down  deeper  and  deeper.  He  was  mercifully  brought  up 
again,  but  his  perplexities  continued  until  he  went  into 
the  sanctuary  of  God,  and  there,  in  the  exercise  of  relig- 
ious faith,  he  said,  '^  Well,  I  will  give  it  all  up  ;  I  will 
not  attempt  to  comprehend  it,  but  Thou  shalt  guide  me 
by  Thy  counsel,  and  afterwards  receive  me  to  glory.  I 
will  be  a  religious  man  if  I  cannot  be  a  philosopher.  I 
will  be  led  as  a  little  child  by  the  hand  of  God  if  I  can- 
not comprehend  the  incomprehensible."  A  wise  man 
that.  Do  you  not  see  this  religious  faith  also  in  the 
prophet  whose  words  1  read  to  you  in  the  lesson  ?  That 
'^  although  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  neither  shall 
fruit  be  in  the  vines  ;  the  labor  of  the  olive  shall  fail, 
and  the  fields  shall  yield  no  meat ;  the  flocks  shall  be 
cut  off  from  the  fold,  and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the 
stalls  " — what  could  be  worse  ?  Widowhood,  orphanage, 
destitution ;  true,  but  here  evei-ything,  every  necessity, 
and  every  enjoyment — flocks,  herds,  fruit,  everything 
gone,  nothing  but  destitution — '^Yet  I  will  rejoice  in 
the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvation.-" 

Let  this  truth  be  also  impressed  upon  us,  that  all  duty 
involves  sacrifice  in  07ie  form  or  other.  There  will  be 
something  to  be  borne,  something  to  be  endured,  some- 
thing to  be  foregone.  It  is  the  law.  God  has  sent  us 
into  the  world  to  do  something,  and  to  do  it  in  danger, 
in  i^eril,  in  temptation,  in  trial  and  tears.  This  being 
so,  it  is  a  grand  thing  to  look  upon  all  the  circumstances 
and  events  of  life  as  what,  indeed  they  are,  not  so  much 


460  MEMOIUAL     TRIBUTES. 

important  in  tliemselves,  as  they  are  important  as  in- 
struments of  discipline,  and  in  relation  to  the  man.  The 
greater  matter  is,  have  we  learnt  the  lesson  ?  Have  we 
got  out  of  the  events  of  life  what  it  was  meant  we  should  ? 
Poverty,  riches,  prosperit}',  calamity,  are  alike  instru- 
ments to  an  end.  The  world  is  a  great  school,  life  is  a 
grand  discipline  ;  and  we  have  to  look  rather  to  the 
results  than  to  the  means. 

Then  thei-e  is  another  thing  we  .'•hould  not  for- 
get— the  way  in  wMch  a  calamity  like  this  calls  out  the 
human  sympathies.  Who  can  tell  whether  a  far  greater 
number  of  hearts  have  not  been  softened  and  bettered  by 
this  calamity,  than  have  been  caused  to  suffer  by  it  ? 

*'  One  touch  of  nature  " — 

and  when  it  comes  in  the  shape  of  sorrow,  one  touch  of 
sorrow, 

— "makes  the  whole  world  kiu." 

How  many  a  heart  has  been  moved  by  the  account 
of  the  mother,  with  the  little  babe  upon  her  arm,  whose 
husband  and  five  sons,  and  a  foster  son — a  child  on  whom 
they  had  had  compassion — were  under  the  earth,  starv- 
ing, suffering,  dying  !  Who  can  tell  what  a  sermon 
that  may  joreach  to  many  a  soul  I  It  is  God's  teaching. 
It  is  God's  picture  book  for  us  children,  who  continually 
need  such  aids — principles  embodied,  invisible  facts. 
And  so  I  cannot  but  think  that  much  benefit  results  in 
this  way,  from  these  disasters,  to  very  many. 

I  know  very  well  how  Skepticism,  a  mechanical  re- 
bellious understanding,  will  come  up  and  say,  ''Why 
should  it  be  ?  Why  should  we  have  sin  even  if  we  have 
redemption  ?  Why  should  we  have  a  curse  even  if  it  be 
ultimately  removed  ?  Would  it  not  be  better  just  all  at 
once,  directly,  like  the  angels  in  heaven,  to  come  forth 


MfSCELLANHOtfS.  46l 

from  the  hand  of  God  perfect,  upright,  pure  !  Why 
this  circuitous  route,  the  permission  of  sin  just  for  the 
purpose  of  redemption  and  removal  ?"  Why  ?  I  cannot 
tell  all  the  whys,  but  my  faith  enables  me  to  say,  I  believe 
it  is  better  that  things  should  be  as  they  are.  Without 
evil,  without  sin  in  the  universe,  without  a  personal  Ke- 
deemer,  without  the  intervention  of  mercy,  without 
God's  wonderful  manifestation  of  himself  in  relation  to 
sin,  and  evil,  and  death,  God's  creatures  could  not  have 
known  perfectly  what  God  is  ;  there  could  not  have  been 
a  complete,  perfect  development  of  the  Godhead.  There- 
fore I  do  not  ask  that  question,  but  I  can  understand 
that  God  tells  me  that  by  the  Church,  through  the  pro- 
cess of  redemption,  he  is  showing  to  the  heavenly  intel- 
ligence his  manifold  wisdom,  and  revealing  the  attri- 
butes of  his  character,  which  could  be  revealed  in  no 
other  way.  ''  Thy  judgments  are  a  great  deep."  Yes  ; 
but  out  of  great  mystery  will  come  ultimately  a  great 
manifestation,  and  then  we  shall  rejoice  and  adore  in 
the  light,  as  we  now  adore  in  the  darkness. 


SUDDEN  DEATH  BY  A  RAILWAY  ACCIDENT. 

D.  L.  MOODY 
ON"  THE  DEATH  OF  MR.  &  MRS.  P.  P.  BLISS. 

T  EXPECTED  to  enjoy,  this  afternoon,  comingaround 
hero  and  hearing  our  friend  Mr.  Bli^s  sing  the  gospel 
and  our  friend  Mr.  Whittle  preach.  I  was  telling  my 
wife  when  I  got  home  Friday  night  that  I  was  really 
glad  I  didn't  have  to  work  so  hard  on  this  Sabbath. 
I  cannot  tell  you  what  a  disappointment  it  has  been  to 
me.  I  have  looked  forward  to  those  two  men  of  God 
coming  to  this  city.     I  had  arranged,  made  my  plans  to 


46^  MEMORIAL     TRtBtJTES. 

fctay  oyer  a  few  days  in  order  to  hear  and  enjoy  their  ser- 
vices. Ever  since  I  heard  that  I  would  have  to  take 
their  place  this  afternoon,  there  has  been  just  one  text 
running  in  my  mind.  I  cannot  keep  it  out:  "  Therefore 
be  ye  also  ready. ^'  You  who  have  heard  me  preach  the 
past  three  months  I  think  will  bear  witness  to  this,  that 
I  haven't  said  much  about  death.  Perhaps  I  haven^'t 
been  faithful  in  this  regard.  I^d  always  rather  tell  about 
life ;  perhaps  there^'s  not  been  warning  enough  in  my 
preaching.  But  I  feel  that  if  I  should  hold  my  peace 
this  afternoon  and  not  lift  up  my  voice  and  warn  you  to 
make  ready  for  death,  God  might  lay  me  aside  and  put 
some  one  else  in  my  place  ;  I  must  speak  and  forewarn 
you. 

To-day  has  been  one  of  the  most  solemn  days  in  my 
life.  The  closing  hours  of  every  year,  for  the  past  ten 
or  twelve  years,  have  been  very  solemn  to  me.  I  think 
I  never  spent  sucli  a  day  as  I  have  to-day.  This  world 
never  seemed  so  empty,  and  men  never  looked  so  blind 
away  from  God,  as  they  do  to-day.  It  seems  as  never 
before  that  I  cannot  understand  how  life  can  go  on  in 
madness,  how  a  man  can  keep  away  from  Christ,  when 
in  just  a  stroke  he  is  gone  to  eternity,  and  there  is  no 
hope.  Those  men  I  mean  that  really  believe,  intellec- 
tually, that  the  Bible  is  true,  that  if  they  die  without  re- 
generation, without  being  born  again,  they  cannot  see 
God's  kingdom.  How  it  is  they  can  believe,  and  how  " 
they  can  still  stay  away  from  Christ  when  such  judg- 
ments are  brouglit  near  to  them,  is  a  mystej-y  to  me.  I 
hope  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  will  find  their  way  to 
your  hearts  as  they  have  to  mine  ;  I  hope  you  will  hear 
Him  this  afternoon  saying :  "  Therefore  be  ye  also 
ready."  He  had  been  warning  them  ;  for  in  the  verse 
preceding  this  text  he  said,  ''As  in  the  days  of  Noah 
they  were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in 


MISCELLANEOUS,  46;^ 

marriage,  until  the  flood  came  and  took  them  all  away." 
It  came  suddenly.  How  often  the  judgments  of  God 
come  suddenly  upon  us.  I  want  to  call  your  attention 
to  a  few  words  we  find  in  the  Old  Testament  in  the  sixth 
chapter  of  Jeremiah  at  the  tenth  verse  :  "  To  whom  shall 
I  speak  and  give  warning  that  they  may  hear  ?  Behold 
their  ear  is  uncircumcised,  and  they  cannot  hearken  ; 
behold  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  unto  them  a  reproach ; 
they  have  no  delight  in  it.^"  Also  in  the  thirty-third 
chapter  of  Ezekiel,  fourth,  fifth  and  sixth  verses:  ''  Then 
whosoever  heareth  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  and  taketh 
not  warning,  if  the  sword  come  and  take  him  away, 
his  blood  shall  be  upon  his  own  head.  He  heard  the 
sound  of  the  trumpet  and  took  not  warning;  his  blood 
shall  be  upon  him.  But  he  that  taketh  warning  shall 
deliver  his  soul.  But  if  the  watchman  see  the  sword 
come,  and  blow  not  the  trumpet,  and  the  people  be  not 
warned  ;  if  the  sv/ord  come,  and  take  any  j^erson  from 
among  them,  he  is  taken  away  in  his  iniquity  ;  but  his 
blood  will  I  require  at  the  watchmen's  hands."  Do  you 
ask  me  now  why  I  am  so  anxious  to  warn  you  ?  Because, 
if  I  don't,  the  blood  of  your  soul  will  be  required  at  my 
hand. 

I  want  to  warn  you  to-day  ;  I  want  to  plead  with  you 
to-day.  And  it  is  because  I  love  you  that  I  come  to 
plead  with  you.  I  am  sure  there  is  nothing  else  that 
could  induce  me  to  speak  this  afternoon.  I  felt,  rather, 
like  going  into  my  room  and  locking  the  door  and  try- 
ing to  learn  what  this  providence  means.  I  don't  expect 
to  find  out  yet — I'm  not  sure  I'll  ever  know.  But — (the 
speaker  paused  in  deep  motion),  I  just  felt  I'd  got  to 
comedown  here  this  very  afternoon  and  cry  out :  ''there- 
fore be  ye  also  ready  I"  make  ready  before  the  close  of 
this  sermon  !  just  ask  yourselves  this  question,  ''am  I 
ready  to  meet  God   this  moment  ?"     If  not,  when  will 


464  MEMontAL     TRtDUTm. 

yon  be  !  God  would  not  tell  us  to  be  ready,  if  he  did 
not  give  us  the  power, — unless  it  was  something  within 
our  reach. 

The  thought  is  put  into  some  of  yonr  minds  that  I 
am  trying  to  take  advantage  of  the  death  of  this  good 
man  to  frighten  you  and  scare  you ;  and  I  haven't  any  doubt 
Satan  is  doing  this  work  at  this  moment.  Eight  here 
let  me  notice  that  some  say  I'm  preaching  for  effect. 
That^s  what  I  am  doing.  I  want  to  affect  you  ;  I  want 
to  rouse  your  death-sleep,  when  I  warn  you  to  prepare  to 
meet  your  God  ;  for  ^'  in  such  hour  as  you  think  not  the 
Son  of  Man  cometh.^'  It  is  just  from  pure  love,  ^\xve 
friendship  to  you  that  I  warn  you  ;  the  thought  that  I 
am  trying  to  frighten  you  from  selfish  motives  is  from 
the  pit  of  hell.  You  take  a  true  mother  ;  if  she  does 
not  warn  her  child  when  playing  with  fire,  you  say  she's 
not  what  she  professes  to  be,  not  a  true  mother.  If  a 
father  sees  his  boy  going  to  ruin  and  don't  warn  him,  is 
he  a  true  father  ?  I  say  it  is  the  single  power  of  love 
that  makes  me  warn  you.  Suppose  I  walk  by  a  house 
on  fire  with  a  man  and  woman  in  it,  and  their  seven 
children.  If  I  don't  call  out,  hammer  on  the  door, 
smash  in  the  windows  if  necessary,  and  cry  out,  ^'escape 
if  you  can,"  what  would  you  say  ?  You  would  say  I 
ought  not  to  live.  If  souls  are  going  down  to  death  and 
hell  all  around  me — I  verily  believe  such  live  to-day, 
and  some  are  in  this  bnilding — how  can  I  hold  my  peace 
and  not  cry  out  at  the  top  of  my  voice  :  "  therefore  be 
ye  also  ready,  for  in  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not  the 
Son  of  Man  cometh." 

There  is  a  legend  that  I  read  soma  time  ago  of  a  man 
who  made  a  covenant  with  Death  ;  and  the  covenant  was 
this  :  that  Death  should  not  come  on  him  unawares, — 
that  Death  was  to  give  warning  of  his  approach.  Well, 
years  rolled  on,  and  at  last,  Death  stood  before  his  victim. 


Mrs  CEL  LA  NEO  US.  465 

The  old  man  blanched  and  faltered  out,  ''why,  Death, 
you  have  not  been  true  to  your  promise,  you  have  not 
kept  your  covenant.  You  promised  not  to  come  unan- 
nounced. You  never  gave  any  warning/'  ''  How, 
how  \"  came  the  answer,  '*  every  one  of  those  gray  hairs 
is  a  warning  ;  every  one  of  your  teeth  is  a  warning ; 
your  eyes  growing  dim  are  a  warning;  your  natural 
power  and  vigor  abated — that  is  a  warning.  Aha  !  I've 
warned  you — Fve  warned  you  continually."  And  Death 
would  not  delay,  but  swept  his  victim  into  eternity. 

That  is  a  legend ;  but  how  many  the  past  year  have 
heard  these  warning  voices.  Death  has  come  very  near 
to  many  of  us.  What  warnings  have  come  to  us  all. 
The  preacher's  calls  to  repentance,  how  again  and  again 
they  have  rung  in  our  ears.  We  may  have  one  or  two 
more  calls  yet,  this  year,  in  the  next  few  hours,  but  I 
doubt  it.  Then  how  many  of  us  in  the  last  twelve 
months  have  gone  to  the  bedside  of  some  loved  friend, 
and  kneeling  in  silent  anguish  unable  to  help,  have 
whispered  a  promise  to  meet  that  dying  one  in  heaven. 
Oh  why  delay  any  longer  !  Before  these  few  lingering 
hours  have  gone,  and  the  year  rolls  away  into  eternity,  I 
beg  of  you,  see  to  it  that  you  prepare  to  make  that 
liromise  good.  Some  of  you  have  kissed  the  marble 
brow  of  a  dead  parent  this  year,  and  the  farewell  look 
of  those  eyes  has  been,  "  make  ready  to  meet  thy  God." 
In  a  few  years  you  will  follow,  and  there  may  be  a  re- 
union in  heaven.     Are  you  ready,  dear  friends  ? 

When  visiting  the  body  of  my  brother  just  before  he 
was  put  in  the  grave,  I  picked  up  his  Bible,  of  the  size 
of  this  in  my  hand,  and  there  was  just  one  passage  of 
scripture  marked.  I  looked  it  up  and  I  found  it  read  ; 
''  whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
might."  As  I  read  it  that  night  the  hand  that  wrote  it 
was  silent  in  death.     It  was  written  in  '76.     Little  did 


466  Memorial    TRinVTJis. 

he  think  when  he  wrote  it  that  in  that  same  year  be 
would  be  silent  in  the  grave.  Little  did  he  think  that 
the  autumn  wind  and  the  winter  snow  would  go  roaring 
over  his  grave.  Thank  God  it  was  a  year  of  jubilee  to 
him.  That  year  he  found  salvation  ;  it  was  a  precious 
year  to  his  soul.  That  year  he  met  his  G-od.  How 
often  have  1  thanked  God  for  that  brother's  triumphant 
death  !  It  seems  as  though  I  could  not  live  to  think  he 
had  gone  down  to  the  grave  unprepared  to  meet  his  God, 
— gone  without  God  and  hope.  Dear  friends, — dear  un- 
saved friends, — I  appeal  to  you  that  you  will  now  accept 
Christ.  Seize  the  closing  hours  of  this  year ;  let  not 
this  year  die  till  the  great  question  is  decided.  I  plead 
with  you  once  more  to  come  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  Oh  hear 
these  blessed  words  of  Christ  as  I  shout  them  again  in 
your  hearing  :  ''  therefore  be  ye  also  ready." 

Now  death  may  take  us  by  surprise.  That's  the  way 
it  has  taken  our  dear  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bliss.  Little 
did  they  know  as  they  rode  towards  Cleveland  last  Fri- 
day night  what  was  to  be  the  real  end  of  the  journey. 
About  this  time  I  was  giving  out  notice  last  Friday 
night  of  their  being  here  this  afternoon,  they  were  then 
struggling  with  death.  That  was  about  the  time  they 
passed  into  glory-land.  It  was  a  frightful  death,  by 
surprise.  But,  beautiful  salvation  ;  star  of  hope  in  that 
time  of  gloom,  darkness  and  death  ;  they  both  were 
ready.  They  were  just  ripened  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 
I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  two  persons  who  had  grown 
more  in  Christ  than  these  dear  friends  had  in  the  past 
four  or  five  years.  I  do  not  think  a  man  walks  the  streets 
of  Chicago  to-day  who  has  so  few  enemies  as  P.  P.  Bliss. 
He  was  a  man  we  will  love  in  another  world.  When  the 
summons  came,  it  must  have  been  terrible,  it  must  have 
brought  cruel  pain  for  a  few  minutes.  But  it  lasted 
only  a  few  minutes  and — they  were  in  glory.     Only  a 


Miscellaneous.  46t 

few  Tniimtes — and  they  were  all  together  in  that  world 
of  light,  perhaps  raising  the  shout  of  praise,  ^'Alleluiah^ 
what  a  Saviour."  I  think  the  heavenly  choir  has  had  a 
great  accession  to-day.  I  doubt  whether  many  around 
the  throne  of  God  sing  sweeter  than  P.  P.  Bliss.  I 
doubt  whether  many  have  loved  the  Son  of  God  more 
than  he.  With  that  golden  harp  of  the  glorified  how 
sweetly  shall  he  sing  ! 

But  my  friends,  while  we  are  mourning  here,  are  we 
ready  ?  "We  cannot  call  them  back.  We  may  mourn 
for  them ;  we  may  mourn  for  the  sad  misfortune  that 
has  befallen  ourselves.  But  what  is  our  loss  is  their 
gain.  It  is  better  for  them  there  than  here  ;  it  is  better 
to  be  ^^ absent  from  the  body,  and  present  with  the 
Lord.''  Shall  you  join  him  in  that  blessed  land  ?  Say, 
are  you  ready  ? 

]^ow  there  are  three  things  which  every  man  should 
be  ready  for  in  this  world  ;  ready  for  life,  ready  for  death, 
and  ready  for  judgment.  Judgment  after  death  is  as 
sure  as  life ;  judgment  is  as  sure  as  death.  There  are 
three  sure  things.  ^^It  is  appointed  unto  man  once  to 
die,  and  after  that  the  judgment."  It  is  of  very  little 
account  how  we  die,  or  where  we  die,  if  we  are  only  pre- 
pared, if  we  are  only  ready.  We  don't  know  what  may 
happen  any  day.  It  seems  to  me  we  ought  to  be  ready 
any  hour,  any  moment  ;  we  knoAV  not  what  may  happen 
any  moment.  Oh,  let  us  get  ready  !  It  seems  sheerest 
folly  to  delay  this  matter  a  single  moment.  Look  at  that 
train  where  great  numbers  were  ushered  into  eternity 
unexpectedly.  Little  did  they  think  that  there  time  was 
BO  near  at  hand.  Little  did  our  friends,  Mr.  Bliss  and 
wife,  think  that  they  v/ere  going  to  be  ushered  into 
eternity  as  they  stepped  lighthearted  on  that  railway 
train.  It  would  seem  that  people  ought  to  resolve  never 
to  step  aboard  a  railway  train  again   until  they're  ready 


U^  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

to  meet  their  God.  It  would  seem  as  though  no  one 
would  lie  down  and  go  to  sleep  to-night  until  he  knows 
he  is  ready  to  meet  the  bridegroom. 

Dear  friends,  are  you  ready  ?  This  question  this 
afternoon  it  seems  to  me  ought  to  go  down  into  all  our 
hearts.  And  then,  if  we  are  ready,  we  can  shout  over 
death  and  the  grave  ;  that  death  is  overcome,  the  sting 
of  death  is  gone  and  the  grave  opens  terrorless.  Sup- 
pose we  do  go  on  and  live  thirty  or  forty  years, — it  is  all 
only  a  little  moment.  Suppose  we  die  in  some  lone 
mountain ;  like  Moses  on  Pisgah,  or  like  Jacob  in  the 
midst  of  our  family,  or  like  Joshua  with  the  leaders  of 
Israel  around  us  ;  or  suppose  God  lets  us  die  surrounded 
with  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  home  ;  or  suppose  death 
comes  on  unexpectedly  and  suddenly  as  it  did  on  Stephen  ; 
it  may  be  we  shall  be  called  to  die  the  death  of  a  martyr 
and  be  put  to  death  unexpectedly — but  if  we  are  only 
ready  what  care  we  just  how  our  summons  comes.  If  I 
am  ready  I  would  as  soon  die  like  Stephen  or  Moses  on  Pis- 
gah. I  would  as  soon  die  like  our  friend  Mr.  Bliss  as 
like  Jacob  with  all  his  sons  around  him,  if  only  I  am 
ready  for  my  glorious  inheritance  beyond  the  grave. 
That  is  the  main  question.  It  is  not  how  we  die. 
It  is  not  where  we  die.  At  the  worst  it  may  be  but  the 
sudden  shock  of  a  few  minutes  and  all  will  be  over  ;  and 
we  enter  upon  eternal  joy,  joy  for  evermore.  Millions 
and  millions  and  millions  of  years  in  this  world  will  not 
yield  the  joy  of  one  minute  of  heaven.  Oh  my  friends, 
shall  you  have  a  place  in  that  heavenly  home  ?  Oh  ! 
will  you  not  each  one  ask  this  question  just  now,  "  Am 
I  ready,  am  I  ready  T* 

I  believe  that  every  man  in  this  Christian  land  has 
had  some  warning ;  some  John  the  Baptist  to  warn  him 
as  Herod  had,  some  Paul  as  Agrippa  and  Felix  had,  some 
friend  like   Nathan,    sent   to  warn  him,  as  David  had  ; 


MISGELLANEOUS.  469 

some  friend  to  warn  him  sucli  as  Ahab  had  in  Elijah. 
And,  my  friends,  I  think  this  is  a  day  of  warning  to  you. 
Are  you  not  coming  to  God  to-day  ?  Will  you  not  hear 
the  Saviour's  loving  voice  to-day,  ''Come  unto  mo."  God 
will  forgive  your  sins  and  blot  them  out  and  give  you  a 
new  heart.  Oh,  let  not  the  sun  go  down  to-night  with- 
out being  reconciled  to  God. 

Little  did  those  people  on  that  train  as  it  n eared 
Cleveland  on  Friday  niglit,  little  did  they  think  the  sun 
was  going  down  for  them  the  last  time,  and  that  they 
should  never  see  it  rise  again.  It  is  going  down  to-night, 
—as  I  am  speaking,  the  last  sun  of  the  year— and  somt 
of  you  in  this  assemblage  may  never  see  it  rise  again. 
Dear  friends,  are  you  ready  for  the  call  if  it  comes  to  you 
between  now  and  to-morrow  morning  ?  This  very  night 
you  may  be  called  away— your  soul  may  be  required  by 
God  your  Maker.  Are  you  ready  to  meet  the  King  and 
Judge  of  all  the  earth  ?  Let  me  put,  urgently  but  kindly, 
these  questions  to  every  soul  here  to-night  :  can  you  say, 
"I  have  Christ;  I  have  eternal  life  through  Jesus 
Christ  my  Saviour."  If  not,  dear  friends,  let  me  ask 
you  what  will  you  say  when  He  shall  come  to  judge  you  ? 
If,  this  very  night,  He  should  summon  you  to  stand  be- 
fore Him,  what  would  yon  say  ? 

Oh,  how  deceitful  death  is  !  Something  may  fall  on 
us  as  we  walk  home  to-night,  or  we  may  fall  down  and 
break  some  part  of  our  body  and  be  ushered  into  eter- 
nity. We  may  be  seized  by  some  fit,  and  we're  gone.  We 
may  have  some  disease  around  the  heart  that  is  hidden 
from  us  and  that  we  know  nothing  about,  and  this  may 
be  our  last  day  on  earth.  *'  Boast  not  thyself  of  to-mor- 
row ;"  we  don't  know  what  will  happen  even  before  to- 
morrow. And  then,  another  deception  ;  a  great  many 
people,  you  know,  because  their  parents  have  outlived 
tlie  allotted  years,  because  their  parents  were  long-live4 


470  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

people,  think  they're  going  to  live  long  also.  How  many 
are  deceived  in  that  way.  Then  there  is  that  lying  de- 
ception, '^  Oh  it  is  time  enough  to  be  a  Christian. — time 
enough  to  cry  to  God — when  He  calls  us."  Look  at  that 
wreck  !  Look  at  those  people  being  dashed  down  that 
frightful  chasm  to  frightful  deaths  !  That  is  no  time  to 
get  ready ;  that  is  not  the  time  !  They  have  all  they 
can  do  trying  to  get  out  of  the  wreck, — bleeding,  burn- 
ing, drowning,  frozen  !  How  many  in  eternity  in  five 
minutes  !  How  many  instantly  !  No  time  for  prayer  in 
such  chaos  as  that :  I  would  not  say  God  is  not  merciful, 
— He  may  have  heard  even  then,  the  penitent  cry ;  but 
I  would  not  dare  to  say  :  "  put  it  off  till  some  calamity 
overtakes  you.''^  The  word  comes  now,  at  this  moment, 
''prepare  to.  meet  God."  *' Seek  first  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  His  righteousness."  Oh,  that  is  the  first  duty 
and  i^leasure  of  this  life,  not  its  last !  It  is  more  impor- 
tant that  you  seek  the  kingdom  of  God  to-day — ^just 
now,  this  very  hour — than  anything  else,  than  anything 
else,  in  life  !  It  is  more  important  than  going  home  to 
look  after  the  highest  earthly  affairs ;  more  important 
than  if  you  could  win  the  wealth  and  the  honors  of  the 
universe!  Let  business  be  suspended  and  everything 
laid  aside  until  this  greatest  question  of  life — the  great- 
est question  of  time  and  eternity — is  settled  :  ''  Prepare 
to  meet  thy  God."     Oh  prepare  ! 

My  friends,  I  call  upon  you  to  come  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  I  call  upon  you  to  prepare  this  day  and  this 
hour  to  meet  your  God.  I  lift  up  my  voice  in  warning 
to  all  of  this  assembly.  Would  you  not  rather  be  in  the 
place  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bliss  and  die  as  they  did,  in  that 
terrible  wreck  by  that  appalling  accident — would  you 
not  rather  choose  tlia' ,  than  to  live  on  twenty-five  years 
or  a  hundred  years,  and  die  without  God  and  go  down 
in  despair  to  dark  rivers  of  eternal  death !     Oh^  it  was 


MISCELLANEOUS.  471 

appalling  !  but  I  would  rather  a  thousand  times  have 
been  on  that  train  that  dark  night,  and  taken  tliat  awful 
leap  and  met  my  God  as  I  believe  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bliss 
have  met  Him,  than  to  have  the  wealth  of  worlds  and 
die  without  God  and  hope  !  Oh,  if  you  are  not  ready, 
make  ready  just  now  !  I  think  a  great  many  tears  should 
be  shed  for  the  sins  of  the  past  year.  If  you  take  my 
advice  you  will  not  go  out  of  this  tabernacle  this  night 
until  you  have  tasted  repentance  and  the  joy  of  sins  for- 
o-iven.  Go  into  the  inquiry-room  and  ask  some  of  the 
Christian  people  to  tell  you  the  way  of  life,  to  tell  you 
what  to  do  to  be  saved.  Say  "I  want  to  be  ready  to 
meet  my  God  to-night,  for  I  don't  know  the  day  or  the 
hour  He  may  summon  me/' 

I  may  be  speaking  to  some  this  afternoon  who  are 
hearing  me  for  the  last  time.  In  a  few  days  I  will  be 
gone.  My  friends,  to  you  I  want  to  lift  up  my  warning 
voice  once  again.  I  want  lo  speak  as  to  brethren  be- 
loved, hastening  on  to  judgment  :  "  Prepare  to  meet  thy 
God."  I  beg  of  you,  I  beseech  of  you,  this  moment, 
don't  let  the  closing  hours,  these  closing  moments  of  '76 
pass,  until  you  are  born  of  God—born  of  the  Spirit,  born 
from  death.  This  day,  if  you  seek  God,  you  shall  find 
Him.  This  day  if  you,  turn  from  sin  and  repent,  God 
is  ready  to  receive  you.  Let  me  say  He  never  will  be 
more  willing  than  to-day  and  you'll  never  have  more 
power  than  to-day.  If  you  are  ready,  He  is  ready  now 
to  receive  and  bless  you  forever  !  Oh,  may  the  God  of 
our  fathers  have  compassion  upon  every  soul  assembled 
here  !  May  our  eyes  be  opened,  and  all  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come  !  May  the  Divine  warnings  take  hold  on 
every  soul  !  May  we  profit  by  this  sad  calamity,  and 
may  many  be  raised  up  in  eternity  to  thank  God  that 
this  meeting  was  ever  held  I 


473  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 


PRESIDENT    OF  THE    UNITED   STATES, 
J.  A.  GARFIELD. 

DEATH  IN  THE  SIGHT  OF   ALL  THE   PEOPLE. 
WM.  M.  TAYLOR,  D.D. 

IN  BROADWAY  TABERNACLE  NEW  YORK. 

TTiey  went  up  into  Mount  Ilor  in  the  sight  of  all  tlie  congregation. 
And  Moses  stripped  Aaron  of  his  garments,  and  j^^t  them  on 
Eleazar  his  son  ;  and  Aaron  died  there  in  the  top  of  the  Mount. — 
Numbers  xx:  27,  28. 

'T^HAT  is  an  old  history  ;  but  in  some  of  its  main  fea- 
tures, it  has  just  been  repeated  in  the  experience 
of  this  nation  ;  and  so  I  have  turned  to  it  to  find  com- 
fort and  instruction  in  our  hour  of  sorrow.  Of  our  be- 
loved President,  too,  it  may  be  truly  said  that  he  has 
ascended  the  hill  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people.  His  life 
has  been  a  constant  climb.  From  the  log-cabin  in  the 
forest  he  went  ''still  upward,"  until  he  reached  the 
highest  office  which  can  be  attained  among  us ;  and  al- 
though, while  he  was  patiently  and  heroically  threading 
his  way  up  the  earliest  slopes,  he  w^as  unseen,  by  the 
multitudes,  yet  the  misroscopic  inspection  of  his  antece- 
dents at  the  time  of  his  nomination  to  the  Presidency 
has  made  even  the  youngest  among  us  familiar  with  his 
career  from  his  earliest  boyhood  until  tlie  night  when 
amid  the  tolling  of  bells  and  the  tears  of  the  nation,  the 
sad  words  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth  among  us — 
"  The  president  is  dead  I" 

We  have  followed  him  from  the  cabin  to  the  school- 
house  ;  from  the  school-house  to  the  carpenter's  shop  ; 
from  the  carpenter's  shop  to  the  canal  barge  ;  from  the 
( anal  barge  to  the  academy  ;  from  the  academy  to  the 
C'Olleoe — first  as  a  student  and  afterward  as  a  professor  ; 


MISCELLANEOUS.  473 

from  the  college  to  the  battle-field;  from  the  battle- 
field to  the  halls  of  legislature  :  from  the  halls  of  legis- 
lature to  the  White  House  ;  and  from  the  White  House 
to  that  cottage  by  the  sea,  wherein  the  long  alternation 
between  relapse  and  recovery  terminated  in  his  dissolu- 
tion. No  Hebrew  in  all  the  host  that  day  when  Aaron 
went  up  Mount  Hor  watched  the  progress  of  the  ascend- 
ing high-priest  with  more  interest  than  that  with  which 
we  have  scanned  the  history  of  Mr.  Garfield  ;  and  we 
had  all  a  glow  of  honest,  thankful  satisfaction  when  we 
saw  in  the  Presidential  chair  a  man  who  might  be  re- 
garded as  a  typical  representative  of  the  best  elements 
of  the  American  character.  But  alas !  like  Aaron,  he 
reached  tlie  summit  only  to  die  ;  and  his  death  also  was 
in  the  sigiit  of  all  the  people.  The  nation — nay,  the 
world  was  admitted  to  his  sick-chamber.  For  all  these 
weeks  each  hand  among  us  was  upon  his  pulse,  and  each 
ear  among  us  was  at  his  heart.  It  was  as  if  each  of 
us  had  a  beloved  patient  in  his  home.  The  ' '  fierce  light " 
which  usually  "  beats  upon  a  throne  "  is  nothing  to  the 
radiant  publicity  into  which  the  affection  of  the  citizens 
insisted  upon  putting  the  incidents  of  that  chamber  of 
suspense  ;  and  in  coming  years  there  shall  yet  be  made 
in  song  and  story  many  a  pathetic  mention  of  his  heroic 
sayings  and  his  thoughtful  solicitude  for  those  who  were 
most  dear  to  him. 

Now  it  is  in  the  effects  which  this  very  publicity  of 
his  history  and  sufferings  has  produced,  and  is,  I  believe, 
destined  in  still  larger  measure  yet  to  produce  among 
us,  that  I  find  some  of  the  richest  elements  of  consola- 
tion under  our  sore  trial. 

I.  For,  in  the  first  place,  that  publicity  has  elevated 
into  the  view  of  the  comnmnity  a  character  every  way 
worthy  to  become  an  example  and  an  inspiration  to  us 
a.il.     And  in  speaking  thus,  I  refer  not  so  much  to  the 


474  MEMORIAL     TRIBUTES. 

liersevej-ance  and  indomitable  pluck  by  which  he  was 
distinguished,  as  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  qualities 
which  in  him  were  so  conspicuous.  He  was  from  the 
first  characterized  by  conscience.  From  the  day  when 
on  the  canal  barge  he  refused  to  take  by  stratagem  or 
trick  from  another  boat,  the  right  of  way  to  which  it 
was  fairly  entitled,  on  to  that  of  the  Convention  in  which 
he  stood  unyieldingly  up  for  a  principle  which  he 
believed  to  be  ^'everlastingly  right, "^  he  was  unflinching 
in  his  adherence  to  that  which  in  his  view  was  just. 

And  this  conscience  in  him,  I  rejoice  to  add,  was 
thoroughly  Christianized.  In  his  early  youth  he  became 
on  deliberate  conviction,  a  disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus ; 
and  in  every  sphere  lie  filled,  it  might  be  said  of  him  that 
he  was  ^*^not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. ^^  There 
was,  indeed,  no  ostentatious  parade  of  his  devotion.  He 
said  little  because  he  acted  so  much.  His  piety  was  that 
of  principle  rather  than  emotion  ;  and  it  was  too  much 
occupied  in  conduct  to  have  any  energy  to  spare  for  dis- 
play. He  was  more  ambitious  for  excellence  than  for 
position.  The  only  place  he  ever  asked  for  he  did  not 
get,  and  every  office  which  he  filled  was  one  to  which  he 
was  called  by  others  without  any  seeking  of  his  own. 
And  surely  I  am  not  wrong  in  saying  that  in  the  eleva- 
tion and  glorification  of  such  a  character  by  such  a 
death  we  have  an  element  of  comfort  which  is  well-nigh 
incalculable.  We  cannot  mourn  for  him ;  for,  being 
such  a  man  as  he  was,  wo  know  right  well  whither  he 
has  gone — and  we  may  be  thankful  that  such  a  career 
has  been  so  prominently  brought  before  the  eyes  of  the 
rising  generation  among  us. 

Young  men,  let  it  fire  you  with  the  noblest  of  all 
ambitions.  Seek  rather  to  le  than  to  get.  Labor  not 
for  office,  but  for  character  ;  and,  to  that  end,  cultivate 
through  faith   in  Christ  a   conscience  that  shall  spurn 


MISCELLANEOUS,  475 

from  it  every  tliougiit  of  wrong ;  for  in  conscience  is  the 
main-spring  of  character,  and  as  you  act  concerning  it, 
you  will  become  either  a  hero  or  a  coward. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  its  public  aspects  that  the  history 
of  our  nation's  second   martyr  is  fraught   with  benefit 
There  was  a  domesticity  about  him  which  strikingly  il- 
lustrated the  fifth  commandment  ;  and,  in  a  day  when 
some  believe  that  our  home-life  in  America  is  degenerat- 
ing, I  am  thankful    that   he   who   has  gone   set  such  a 
noble  example  in  this  regard.     What  devotion  he  showed 
to  his  venerable  mother  ?     Who  can  recall  without  emo- 
tion that  scene  with  his  fellow  students  when,  camping 
out  with  them,  he  took  out  his  Bible  and  said  :  ''  Boys, 
I  promised  my  mother  to  read  a  portion  of  the  Scriptures 
every  night,  and  I  am  going  to  read  it  now— shall  I  read 
it  aloud  r  and  then,  with  their  concurrence,   not  only 
read  a  chapter,  but  led  them  in  prayer  to  the  throne  of 
the  heavenly  grace  ?     Who  can  speak  witliout  pleasure  of 
the  kiss  which   he  imprinted   on  his  mother's   lips  im- 
mediately after  he  had  taken  the   oath  of  office  on  his 
installation  day  ?     And  who  can  read  without  tears  the 
letter— the  only  one  he  wrote   during  his  weeks  of  lan- 
guishing—to the  venerable  woman,  that  lie  might,  with 
his  own  hand,  give  her  as  much  hope  of  his  recovery  as 
possible  ?     What  an  example  for  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  land  !     Oh,  ye  poor,  paltry  puppets,  who,  in  the 
day  of  your   prosperity,   turn   your    backs    upon    your 
parents  and  think  of  them  only  as  a  burden   and  a  dis- 
gi-ace— look  at  these   beautiful   indications  of  his   filial 
devotion  and  go  hide  your  heads  for  shame  !     That  in- 
stallation kiss  !  let  it  stand  out  in  our  history  forever  as 
an  enforcement  of  the  holy  law-^^  Honor  thy  father  and 
.thy  mother  "—and    let   it    serve  to   lift   up   the  family 
among  us  to  its  ancient  elevation. 

But  he  was  no  less  tender  as  a  husband  than  he  was 


476  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTES. 

faithful  as  a  son.  We  got  a  glimpse  of  his  conjugal 
devotion  during  the  serious  illness  of  Mrs.  Garfield  in 
the  White  House  ;  and  the  impression  made  then  upon 
us  was  deepened  by  the  telegram  which  he  calmly 
dictated  to  her  immediately  after  he  was  shot ;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  her  noble  calmness  in  that  trying  hour, 
coupled  with  her  unslumbering  watchfulness  beside  his 
bed,  has  given  her  a  place  in  the  nation^s  heart  second' 
only — if  indeed  it  be  second — to  that  in  which  it  has 
enshrined  him.  While,  in  the  bearing  of.  Mr.  Garfield 
toward  his  boys  and  his  tender  solicitude  for  his 
daughter,  I  feel  persuaded  that  every  father  among  us 
has  been  stimulated  and  benefited.  How  many  homes  in 
the  land,  I  wonder,  could  bear  the  revelation  made  by 
the  turning  of  the  w^hite  electric  light  of  publicity  in 
upon  them  as  the  household  of  the  President  has  done  ? 
This  terrible  affliction  has  made  it  a  spectacle  to  all. 
Let  us  be  thankful  that  it  is  of  such  a  character  that  it 
may  be  an  example  for  all. 

But  I  find  another  element  of  consolation  in  the  uni- 
fication of  the  nation  which  has  resulted  from  the  pub- 
licity in  which  our  President  lived  and  died.  When 
Aaron  w^as  ascending  Mount  Hor,  no  jealousy  was  per- 
mitted to  alienate  the  tribes  of  Israel  from  each  other. 
In  sight  of  the  venerable  high-priest  going  up  to  meet 
his  death,  the  envyings  of  Reuben  and  the  rebellion  of 
the  sons  of  Korah  were  forgotten.  Israel  w^as  once  more 
a  unit.  One  great  grief  swallowed  up  and  into  itself  all 
minor  things,  even  as  the  uprising  tide  overwhelms  all 
the  pools  which  the  last  ebb  has  left  behind  ;  and,  in 
the  thirty  days  of  mourning  which  followed  his  dissolu- 
tion there  was  no  exception  to  the  universality  of  the 
grief  ;  for,  as  the  historian  tells  us,  ''  they  mourned  for 
Aaron,  even  all  the  house  of  Israel."  So  it  is  now  with 
US.     For  the  first  time  in  many,  many  years  there  is  no 


MtSCELLANBOUS.  4?t 

section  in  our  land  to-day.  North  and  South — their 
differences  for  the  time  forgotten — are  weeping  in  equal 
sorrow  over  Garfield^s  bier,  and  it  looks  as  if  the  feuds 
of  a  quarter  of  a  century  were  to  be  healed  and  the  divi- 
sions cemented  by  his  blood.  No  tributes  to  his  memory 
are  more  sincere  than  those  which  have  been  uttered 
by  Southern  statesmen,  and  no  tokens  of  grief  are 
deeper  than  those  worn  by  our  fellow-citizens  with  whom 
formerly  we  were  at  war.  Now  that  we  have  wept  to- 
gether, we  shall  begin  to  forget  that  we  have  fought. 

I  think,  too,  that  among  the  consolatory  effects  pro- 
duced by  this  trial  I  see  the  beginning  of  a  spirit  of  in- 
dignation which  shall  at  length  sweep  away  the  abuses 
that  have  gathered  around  that  system  of  making  pub- 
lic offices  the  rewards  of  party  service  which  has  become 
the  shame  of  our  American  politics. 

Unless  I  greatly  mistake,  there  has  been  growing  all 
through  these  sorrowful  weeks  a  spirit  of  determmation 
among  the  people  to  put  to  death  the  system  out  of 
which  this  murder  sprung,  and  woe  to  the  public  man 
who  shall  attempt  to  stay  that  execution  !  It  may  take 
a  long  time.  The  struggle  may  be  severe,  for  self-in- 
terest is  always  difficult  to  dislodge;  but,  depend  upon  it, 
its  death-knell  is  rung,  and  the  sovereign  people  will  see 
that  their  will  is  carried  through,  no  matter  what  ofiBcial 
heads  may  be  lopped  off  in  the  process.  Over  the  bier 
of  Garfield  they  have  pledged  themselves  that  he  shall 
not  die  in  vain,  and  a  covenant  in  such  blood  will  never 
be  forgotten.  The  evil  now  has  only  smitten  the  na- 
tion's head  ;  it  has  not  yet  corrupted  the  heart.  The 
universal  feeling  of  this  hour  is  a  proof  that  that  is 
sound  ;  and,  when  the  people  are  in  earnest,  they  can 
do  anything.  They  are  in  earnest  now.  It  seems  to  be 
the  law  of  God's  providence  that  no  great  advance  can 
be  secured  in  anything  without  a  victim,  and  the  value 


m  MEMORIAL      TRIBUTEB. 

of  the  victim  in  this  case  is  so  great — for  he  was  the  best 
the  nation  had — that  we  may  anticipate  that  the  advance 
will  be  decided.  Let  us  pledge  ourselves  by  the  memory 
of  him  at  whose  bedside  we  have  stood  for  so  many 
weeks,  that,  God  helping  us,  v/e  shall  slay  the  system 
out  of  which  his  assassination  sprung.  If  we  do  not 
succeed  in  doing  that,  it  may  be  the  assassination  of  the 
nation  next. 

But  the  effects  of  the  publicity  given  to  onr  Presi- 
dent's chiiracter  and  death  have  not  been  confined  to  our 
own  land.  The  nations  have  sat  with  us  round  his  bed> 
and  they  are  mourning  with  us  now  over  his  decease. 
Thus  this  calamity  has  brought  the  ends  of  the  earth 
together,  and  knit  the  peoples  in  a  brother-hood  of  be- 
reavement. From  all  quarters  and  from  every  land,  mes- 
sages of  condolence  have  kept  pouring  in  upon  us.  In 
Great  Britain,  as  I  can  testify  from  observation  during 
my  recent  visit  to  my  father-land,  the  President  and  his 
patient,  self-denying  wife  were  daily  through  his  illness 
a  source  of  interest  to  all,  from  the  palace  to  the  cot- 
tage. Queen  Victoria  never  wrote  anything  so  queenly 
as  that  message  which  came  quivering  over  the  wires  to 
the  stricken  mourner ;  for  it  was  the  queenliness  of  the 
woman,  rather  than  of  the  monarch — the  sympathy  of  a 
widow,  speaking  from  her  own  experience,  with  a  widow 
just  entering  the  valley  of  her  loneliness — ''  May  God 
comfort  you  as  he  alone  can  ;"  and  the  memorial  wreath 
which  she  caused  to  be  laid  upon  his  coffin  will  flourish 
as  an  '^immortelle  "  in  the  memory  of  this  people. 

But  as  another  element  of  consolation  under  our  sor- 
row, suggested  by  this  text,  I  name  the  continuation  of 
the  nation's  organic  life.  When  Lincoln  was  muidered 
it  was  the  voice  of  Garfield  which  stilled  the  surging 
crowd  in  Wall  Street  with  the  words  :  '' Fellow -citizens, 
clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  him ;  justice  and 


MiSVELLANElOtjS.  41'§ 

judgment  are  the  habitations  of  his  throne 

God  reigns,  and  the  government  at  Washington  still 
lives/^  This  is  our  consolation  now  ;  and  to-day,  while 
we  sympathize  with  the  bereaved,  and  count  ourselves 
among  them,  our  prayers  must  also  ascend  for  him  who, 
m  circumstances  so  solemn,  and  amid  grief  so  profound, 
has  been  called  to  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the 
Presidential  chair. 

But  to  mention  only  one  thought  more,  we  have  the 
largest  consolation  of  all  in  the  fact  that  God  is  among 
the  people.  Aaron  did  not  take  with  him  the  pillar  of 
cloud  and  fire.  The  shechinah  still  hovered  above  the 
mercy-seat,  and  after  the  days  of  mourning  for  the  high- 
priest  were  ended,  Jehovah  was  as  much  the  leader  of 
Israel  as  He  had  been  before.  Xo  mdividual  is  indis- 
pensable. It  is  as  easy  for  God  to  carry  on  His  work 
without  us  as  with  us,  if  only  He  be  recognized  and 
honored  by  those  who  remain  behind.  All  individuals 
are  but  His  instruments;  and  all  instruments  may  be 
made  alike  mighty  m  his  hands.  Let  us  be  only  sure 
that  God  is  with  us  and  all  will  be  well.  And  He  will 
be  with  us  if  we  will  be  with  Him.  As  Lincoln  said, 
when  one  spoke  to  him  of  the  importance  of  having 
God  on  our  side — ''The  great  thing  for  us  is  to  make 
sure  that  we  are  on  God's  side  \''  and  there  are  many  in- 
dications now  among  us  that  the  people  are  anxiously 
desirous  that  this  shall  be  the  case.  What  spiritual  as- 
pirations have  been  awakened  in  us  all  by  the  sorrows  of 
these  weeks,  culminating  in  the  sad  climax  of  this  day  ! 
It  is  almost  like  a  revival  of  religion  over  the  land. 
Were  ever  prayers  so  numerous  or  so  earnest  offered  as 
those  which  have  been  and  are  now  being  presented 
throughout  the  country  ? 

So  let  us  take  heart  again  and  sing,  '^  God  is  in  the 
midst  of  her,  she  shall  not  be  moved  ;  God  shall  help  us, 


480  MEMORIAL      TRIBtTTES. 

and  that  right  early."  As  good  John  Wesley  said  with 
his  dying  breath,  *^  The  best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us  y" 
or  as  the  pious  Scotch  woman  put  it  in  her  own  vernac- 
ular, *-  The  Lord's  aye  to  the  fore  !"  '^  God  lives  ; 
blessed  be  our  rock,  and  let  the  God  of  our  salvation  be 
exalted/' 

For  the  rest  our  loved  one  sleeps  in  Jesus.  We  have 
no  doubts  or  misgivings  about  him.  Already  he  has  en- 
tered into  the  joy  of  his  Lord  ;  and  great  is  the  contrast 
between  the  gloom  of  our  mourning  and  the  gladness  of 
his  glory. 

A  voice  is  heard  ou  earth  of  kiusfolk  weeping 

The  loss  of  one  they  love; 
But  he  has  gone  where  the  redeemed  are  keeping 

A  festival  above. 

The  mourners  throng  the  ways,  and  from  the  steeple 

The  funeral  bells  toll  slow ; 
But  on  the  golden  streets  the  holy  people 

Are  passing  to  and  fro : 

And  saying,  as  they  meet,  "Rejoice,  another, 

Long  waited  for,  is  come. 
The  Saviour's  heart  is  glad,  a  younger  brother 

Hath  reached  the  Father's  home." 

To  that  home  may  we  also  be  admitted,  in  God's 
good  time  and  way,  through  the  merits  and  mediation 
of  our  great  High-Priest.     Amen. 


MEMORIAL    RESOLUTIONS. 


1.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  TWO  MEMBERS  OF  THE   EVAN- 
GELICAL ALLIANCE. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Evangelical 
Alliance  of  the  United  States,  the  following  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions, submitted  by  Rev.  William  Adams,  D.D.,  of  New  York, 
were  adopted,  and  cordially  commended  to  the  Christian  people 
of  this  country  : 

Greatly  afflicted  by  that  mysterious  Providence  which  has 
consigned  to  a  watery  grave  Rev.  Professor  Pronier,  of  Geneva, 
and  Rev.  Antonio  Carrasco,  of  Madrid,  v^hen  on  their  home- 
ward voyage  from  the  recent  Conference  in  this  city ;  be  it 

Resolved,  That,  cherishing  with  great  ajEFection  the  memory  of 
these  brethren,  who  endeared  themselves  to  so  many  during  their 
recent  visit  to  this  country,  we  extend  to  their  desolate  families, 
in  this  sudden  and  terrible  bereavement,  our  tenderest  Christian 
sympathy. 

As  an  expression  of  this  affection  and  sympathy,  and  in  cordial 
obedience  to  the  Divine  teaching,  to  "  love  not  in  word  only, 
but  in  deed  and  in  truth,"  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  Alliance,  so  far  adopting  under  its  care 
the  widowed  and  orphaned  families  of  these  beloved  brethren, 
will  undertake  to  raise  a  memorial  fund,  to  be  held  by  the 
Finance  Committee  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  in  this  country, 
who  shall  be  empow^ered  to  expend  the  same  or  its  (semi-annual) 
income,  according  to  their  best  judgment,  for  the  support  of 
Mesdames  Pronier  and  Carrasco  and  the  education  of  their 
children. 

Resolved,  That  all  churches  sympathizing  with  the  Evangeli- 
cal Alliance,  be  hereby  requested  to  take  a  collection  on  the 
third  Sabbath  in  January,  or  as  near  that  time  as  possible,  in 
furtherance  of  this  object ;  confident  that  such  an  act  will  not 

21  ■  [481J 


48^  MEMORIAL     RESOLUTIONS. 

only  convey  needful  relief  to  the  distressed,  but  will  prove  a 
means  of  promoting  a  new  and  greater  interest  in  Christian 
brotherhood  and  Christian  evangelism  throughout  the  world. 


2.    ON    THE    DEATH     OF    A    BISHOP    AND    COLLEGE 
PRESIDENT. 

By  the  University  Senate  of  Ann  Arbor  University,  Mich. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  University  Senate,  held  in  the  room  of  the 
President,  August  5,  1881,  the  following  testimonial  of  respect 
for  the  memory  of  Dr.  E.  0.  Haven,  Ex-President  of  the  Univer- 
sity, was  ordered  to  be  placed  on  the  records  of  the  Senate.  It 
was  also  ordered  that  copies  should  be  sent  to  the  family  of  the 
deceased  and  furnished  to  the  press  for  publication : 

Rev.  Erastus  O.  Haven,  D.D.,  Bishop  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  an  Ex-President  of  this  University,  died  at 
Salem,  Oregon,  on  the  second  day  of  August,  1881. 

Dr  Haven  held  the  chair  of  the  Latin  language  and  literature 
in  this  University  in  1853,  and  that  of  history  and  English  litera- 
ture in  1854  and  1855,  and  the  office  of  President  of  the  Univer- 
sity from  1863  to  1869. 

This  Senate  has  received  with  profound  grief  the  intelligence 
of  his  death.  Cut  down  suddenly,  almost  at  the  beginning  of 
the  sacred  duties  of  the  high  and  responsible  office  to  which  he 
had  been  called  by  the  church  of  his  choice,  while  still  strong 
and  vigorous,  and,  to  all  appearance,  capable  of  doing  good 
service  in  the  cause  of  his  Master  for  many  years  to  come,  he  has 
left  a  record  of  great  and  manifold  and  fruitful  labors  to  per- 
petuate his  memory,  and  to  console  the  multitude  of  friends, 
brethren,  and  associates  who  mourn  his  loss. 

The  uninterrupted  successes  of  his  life,  from  the  day  of  his 
graduation  at  Middletown  to  the  day  of  his  death  in  Oregon, 
were  due  to  his  unwavering  faith  in  Christ,  his  indomitable 
energy,  his  ready  adaptation  to  circumstances,  his  versatility  of 
talent  and  breadtli  and  variety  of  attainment,  his  prudence  and 
tact  in  administration,  and,  not  least,  his  remarkable  facility 
and  felicity  of 'expression  in  writing,  and,  especially,  in  public 
speaking. 

He  was  elected  to  many  and  honorable  positions,  involving 
either  educational,  ministerial,  or  literary  labor,  but  among  all 
the  high  duties  to  which  he  was  called,  none  did  he  discharge 
with  more  distinguished  ability  than  those  of  the  presidency  of 
this  University.  During  the  six  years  of  his  administration  the 
attendance  of  undergraduates  was  constantly  increasing,  while 
the  institution  was  steadily  progressing  in  its  proper  work,  and 


MEMOnlAL      IU£S0LUTI0N8.  483 

growing  in  popular  favor.  Not  less  was  his  administration  dis- 
tinguished for  the  internal  harmony  and  unity  promoted  by  his 
large  and  kindly  spirit,  which  at  the  same  time  attached  all  mem- 
bers of  the  University  heartily  and  firmly  to  his  person. 

This  University  will  ever  cherish  and  honor  the  memory  of 
President  Haven,  and  while  it  mourns  his  death  it  is  thankful 
for  the  good  which  a  kind  Providence  has  permitted  him  to 
achieve  not  only  here  but  in  many  fields  of  beneficent  enter- 
prise. 

The  Senate,  while  thus  expressing  its  sense  of  the  loss  sus- 
tained by  education  and  religion  in  the  death  of  Bishop  Haven, 
desires  most  sincerely  and  respectfully  to  extend  its  sympathies 
to  the  family,  so  suddenly  visited  by  a  mysterious  but  wise  and 
merciful  Providence  with  this  great  sorrow  and  heaviest  of 
earthly  bereavements. 

By  order  of  the  Senate. 

,  Secretary. 


3.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  COLLEGE  PROFESSOR. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Faculty  of  Brown  University,  held  Febru- 
ary 17th,  the  President  announced  the  death  of  William  Giles 
Goddard,  formerly  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  and  IMetaphy- 
sics,  and  more  recently  of  Belles  Lettres,  in  the  University,  and, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Fellows,  and 
Secretary  of  the  Corporation. 

Whereupon,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  w^ere 
unanimously  adopted,  and  ordered  to  be  entered  upon  the  records 
of  the  Faculty : 

It  having  pleased  Almighty  God  to  remove  from  this  life 
William  Giles  Goddard,  LL.D.,  a  distinguished  Alumnus  of  this 
University,  for  many  years  one  of  its  most  successful  instruc- 
tors, and  through  life  one  of  its  most  eflScient  friends,  a  gentle- 
man eminent  alike  for  rich  and  varied  learning,  elegant  scholar- 
ship and  refined  taste,  as  well  as  for  high  attainment  in  all  the 
graces  of  pure  Christianity  and  enlarged  philanthropy: 

Resolved,  That  we  cherish  a  profound  veneration  for  the 
talents,  virtues  and  services  of  our  late  associate  and  friend. 

That  we  tender  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  the  expression  of 
our  sincere  sympathy  on  the  occasion  of  their  irreparable  loss. 

That,  as  a  Faculty,  w^e  will  attend  the  funeral  solemnities, 
and-that  the  exercises  of  the  College  be  suspended  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  day  on  which  they  take  place. 

That  the  President  of  the  University  be  requested  to  deliver  a 


484  Memorial    resolution. 

discourse  in  commemoration  of  the  life  and  services  of  Professor 
Goddard;  and 

That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  presented  to  the  family  of 
the  deceased,  and  published  in  one  of  the  papers  of  this  city. 

F.  WAYLAND,  President. 


4.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  PASTOR. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  official  board  of  the church, 

held  June  28th,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted ; 

Whereas,  in  the  order  of  Divine  Providence,  our  pastor,  Rev. 
-,  has  been  removed  from  our  midst  by  the  hand  of  death. 


and  our  hearts  have  been  deeply  moved  thereby ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  in  his  death  we  have  lost  one  of  nature's 
nobleman,  a  generous  friend,  a  genial  companion ;  a  man  of  true 
and  honest  purpose,  of  pure  mind,  of  sound  judgment,  prompt 
in  action,  faithful  in  matters  of  trust,  an  earnest  Christian 
worker,  and  an  ardent  lover  of  Methodism. 

2.  That  we  treasure  the  memory  of  his  blameless  Christian 
life,  his  wise  counsels,  his  faithful  warnings,  and  his  zeal  for  the 
cause  of  Christ. 

3.  That  from  the  manner  of  his  life  among  us,  and  from  the 
positive  character  of  his  Christian  experience  and  testimony  dur- 
ing his  illness,  we  are  fully  persuaded  that  our  loss  is  his  eternal 
gain ;  and  that  while  we  are  mourning  on  earth,  he  is  rejoicing 
with  the  redeemed  and  blood-washed  in  heaven. 

4.  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  widow  and  children, 
who  have  been  called  to  j)art  with  their  chief  earthly  counsellor 
and  support,  and  that  we  earnestly  beseech  the  Father  in  Heaven 
to  grant  them  the  consolation  they  so  much  need,  and  which  he 
alone  can  give. 

5.  That  we  tender  to  the  widow  the  use  of  the  parsonage,  and 
the  salary  her  husband  would  have  received,  for  the  remaining 
part  of  the  conference  year. 

6.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  tendered  to  the  family 
of  the  deceased,  that  they  be  published  in  The  Christian  Advo- 
caUf  and  recorded  on  the  minutes  of  the  quarterly  conference. 


MEMOBIAL      RESOLUTIONS.  485 


5.  ON  THE   DEATH   OF   A  ]\IEMBER   OF  THE    SCHOOL 
BOARD. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  School  Committee  of  the  city  of  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  holden  at  the  City  Council  Chamber,  on  Friday, 
the  20th  of  February,  on  the  announcement  by  the  President, 
the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted 
and  ordered  to  be  placed  upon  the  records : 

Whereas,  it  has  pleased  the  Disposer  of  all  events  suddenly  to 

remove  from  this  life ,   Esq.,  who  has  been  for  the  last 

nine  years  a  member  of  this  body;  who  cherished  with  equal 
ardor  the  interests  of  popular  education  and  those  of  refined 
literature ;  and  who  was  ever  ready  with  his  matured  counsel, 
his  liberal  hand  and  his  gifted  pen,  to  co-operate  with  his  fellow^ 
citizens  in  every  enterprise  for  the  advancement  of  good  morals 
and  social  improvement;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Mr.  this  Committee  has 

lost  one  of  its  most  judicious  and  efficient  members,  the  city  one 
of  its  worthiest  and  most  accomplished  citizens,  and  elegant 
learning  one  of  its  greatest  ornaments. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  our 
unaffected  sympathy  and  condolence  in  this  their  most  afflictive 
bereavement. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  our 
lamented  associate — a  tribute  demanded  ahke  by  his  eminent 
private  virtues  and  public  worth — we  will,  in  a  body,  attend  the 
funeral  solemnities,  which  are  to  take  place  this  day. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  signed  by  the 
President  and  Secretary,  be  communicated  to  the  family  of  the 
deceased,  and  that  the  same  be  published  in  the  newspapers  of 
this  city.  ,  Secretary. 


6.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  AN  EDITOR. 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  to  le- 
move,  recently,  another  of  His  workmen  from  the  field  of  hi:^^ 
earthly  labor  to  His  nearer  presence  and  eternal  rest,  our  beloved 
brother.  Rev.  Wm  S.  Baird,  late  Editor  of  the  Baltimore  EpiscQ- 
■pal  Methodist,  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  we  recognize  with  feelings  of  sadness  the 
inroads  of  death  upon  tlie  ranks  of  the  ministTy  in  our  midst^  an'.] 


486  MEMORIAL      RESOLUTIONS. 

the  loss  which  the  Church  sustains  in  the  vacancy  of  the  im- 
portant post  of  usefulness  so  recently  filled  by  Brother  Baird. 

Resolved,  2.  That  we  will  cherishthe  pleasing  recollection  of 
his  active  service  in  the  Redeemer's  cause,  and  of  his  fervent 
piety  and  unsullied  life ;  and  that  it  shall  be  our  aim  to  follow 
him  as  he  followed  Christ. 

Resolved,  3.  That  our  sorrow  at  the  separation  from  one  so 
long  and  so  highly  esteemed  is  softened  by  the  joy  of  the  assur- 
ance that  in  departing  he  has  gone  "  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is 
far  better." 

Resolved,  4.  That  we  offer  to  the  bereft  members  of  the  family 
of  our  deceased  brother  our  sincere  condolence;  and  for  them 
our  earnest  prayer  is,  that  He  who  has  promised  to  be  the  Father 
of  the  fatherless  and  the  husband  of  the  widow,  may  afford  them 
gracious  consolation. 

Resolved,  5.  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Conference  be  in- 
structed to  furnish  for  publication  in  the  Baltimore  Episcopal 
Methodist  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions. 


7.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  PUBLISHER. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Book  Trade  of  ISTew  York,  on 
motion,  Messrs.  Seymour,  Randolph,  and  Hurd  were  appointed 
a  Committee  on  Resolutions,  who  reported  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  we  have  received  the  announcement  of  the 
death  of  John  Harper  with  the  most  profound  sorrow. 

Resolved,  That  in  him  our  trade  mourns  its  oldes.t  as  well  as 
one  of  its  most  respected  and  honored  members,  and  the  business 
community  in  general  a  representative  man,  one  whose  long  and 
distinguished  career  has  iden  Ified  his  name  with  the  history  of 
our  city,  and  done  much  to  establish  and  maintain  its  reputation 
as  the  literary  centre  of  our  country.  The  record  of  diligence, 
industry,  steadfast  perseverance,  thrift,  and  economy  which 
marked  his  earlier  years  remains  for  the  imitation  of  those  who 
are  entering  upon  business  hfe.  The  determination  with  which 
he  met  and  triumphed  over  almost  overwhelming  disaster  stands 
as  an  encouragement  to  any  who  may  be  struggling  with  adver- 
sity. His  unswerving  love  of  country  has  our  praise.  We  re- 
cognize the  skill  and  foresight  which  he  displayed  in  the  prose- 
cution of  the  large  business  in  the  control  of  which  he  took  such 
a  prominent  part  for  so  long  a  series  of  years.  We  should  emu- 
late his  untiring  energy  and  imitate  the  strict  honor  which 
marked  his  transactions,  while  his  unfailing  kindness  of  heart 
has  our  grateful  remembrance. 

p,esolved,  Tht|,|'  w§  (,;lose  our  respective  places  of  Ijiisiwes-s 


MEMORIAL      RESOLUTIONS.  487 

(luring  the  hours  of  the  funeral,  and  that  we  attend  the  services 
in  a  body. 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  to  the  business  associates  and  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased  our  sincere  sympathy  in  their  bereave- 
ment,' and  that  the  Secretary  be  instructed  to  send  them  a  copy 
of  these  resolutions. 


8.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  PHYSICIAN. 

By  a  Medical  Association. 

Inasmuch  as  death  has  suddenly  removed  from  our  midst  our 
highly  esteemed  and  much  beloved  brother,  G.  H.  II.,  M.D., 
while  in  the  prime  of  life,  apparently  in  the  vigor  of  i>erfect 
health,  in  the  crowning  success  of  his  cherished  profession,  in 
the  unfeigned  love  of  a  large  and  rapidly  increasing  circle  of 
friends,  in  the  exalted  appreciation  of  his  patients,  and  in  the 
unsullied  respect  and  confidence  of  his  churcli ;  therefore,  he  it 

Resolved,  That  we  have  lost  one  whose  presence  in  memory  we 
shall  ever  be  proud  to  recall  as  an  active  and  zealous  member  of 
this  Association,  and  an  honor  to  its  medical  status,  and  an  ex- 
ample to  its  associates  of  pure  friendship,  noble  generosity  and 
true  manliness. 

Resolved,  That  the  medical  profession  at  large  have  sustained 
m  his  death  the  loss  of  one  whose  qualities  may  be  feebly 
grouped  as  the  working,  sympathizing,  skillful,  and  gentlemanly 
physician. 

Resolved,  That  the  conmniuily  in  which  he  immediately 
moved  have  reason  to  bow  in  humble  sorrow  at  the  loss  of  a  noble 
and  exemplary  citizen,  a  faithful  friend,  a  respected  physician, 
an  ornament  to  the  church,'  and  a  fit  example  of  morality. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  grief-stricken 
family  of  our  deceased  friend,  and  assure  them  of  the  sincere 
fellow-feeling  of  all  who  knew  of  their  great  afiliction. 

Resolved,  That  in  his  sudden  and  unexpected  death  we  deeply 
realize  the  shortness  and  uncertainty  of  fife,  and  would  learn 
afresh  the  lesson  that  we,  like  him,  should  so  live  that  we  may 
not  be  afraid  to  die. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the 
family  of  the  deceased,  and  also  to  the  medical  periodicals  of 
this  city  for  publication, 

,  Committee. 


488  MEMORIAL     RESOLUTIONS. 


9.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  PRESIDENT  OF  A  BOAED  OF 
TRUSTEES. 

A  special  meeting  of  tlie  Board  of  Trustees  of  St.  James  M.  E. 
Church  was  held  in  the  Chapel  on  Wednesday  evening,  May  2d, 
1877. 

On  motion,  Brother  D.  J;  D.  was  called  to  the  chair. 

The  object  of  the  meeting  having  been  stated,  the  following 
resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted : 

The  Board  of  Trustees  of  St.  James  M.  E.  Church,  desiring  to 
attest  their  sense  of  the  loss  sustained  by  this  church  in  the  death 
of  their  late  President,  H.  H.  G.,  their  appreciation  of  his  char- 
acter, and  their  sympathy  with  his  family,  here  record  the  follow- 
ing minute : 

Resolved,  That  the  death  of  our  beloved  brother,  in  the  prime 
of  his  years  and  usefulness,  is  a  dispensation  of  affliction  incapa- 
ble of  consolation  otherwise  than  by  humble  faith  in  the  Om- 
niscient One,  who  is  "  too  wise  to  err,  too  good  to  be  unkind." 

Resolved,  That  our  departed  brother  was  endeared  to  his 
official  associates  by  his  unfailing  generosity,  kindness  and 
geniality,  and  to  the  entire  church  by  his  effective  service  and 
active  benevolence;  that  his  earnest  Christian  life  is  an  assurance 
to  us  that  our  sudden  loss  is  his  endless  gain. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  sincerest  sympathy  to  his 
esteemed  wife  and  family,  praying  that  in  this  hour  of  sore 
affliction  they  may  find  the  Saviour  near,  and  that  "they  may 
put  their  trust  under  the  shadow  of  His  wings." 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  transmit  a  copy  of 
the  foregoing  resolutions  to  the  family  of  our  late  President. 

- — ,  Secretary. 


10.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  KNIGHT  TEMPLAR. 

In  Memoriam — Sir  Knight .     Commandery ,  Knights 

Templars,  in  conclave  assembled,  having  heard  of  the  death  of 

our  late  companion,  Sir  Knight  ,  desire  to  place  on  record 

an  expression  of  their  deep  sorrow  for  the  loss  they  have  sus- 
tained by  his  death,  and  the  great  esteem  in  which  Sir  Knight 

was   held  by  the   members  of  this  Commandery,    and  to 

bear  testimony  of  our  high  appreciation  of  his  Christian  charac- 
ter as  a  Knight  Templar,  and  do  hereby 

Resolve,  That  the  unsearchable  wisdom  of  the  Grand  Master, 
tJie  1? emplars'  Gpd.  has  called  him  to  the  asylum  of  rest, 


MEMOIUAL      UESOLUTWNS.  489 

Tliat  wc  have  unboimcled  faith  in  the  safety  of  his  Divine 
Power,  by  whose  life  our  dead  shall  live. 

That  we  tender  our  sympathy  to  his  widow  and  children  in 
their  sorrow,  and  assure  them  of  our  love  for  their  husband  and 
father,  who  being  dead  is  yet  alive. 

That  a  copy  of  this  testimonial  be  recorded  on  a  full  page  of 
our  Book  of  Record,  and  be  also  suitably  engrossed  and  sent  to 
the  family  of  our  deceased  companion. 

Committee. 


11.    RESOLUTIONS    PASSED    BY    A    MASONIC    LODGE, 
COMMEMORATIVE  OF  THEIR  LATE  PAST  MASTER. 

Whereas,  By  the  sudden  and  unexpected  death  of  our  Past 
Master,  G.  H.  H., Lodge  has  suffered  a  great  and  irrepar- 
able loss. 

Resolved,  That  as  an  officer  of  the  Lodge  he  faithfully  and 
efficiently  performed  his  work,  displaying  administrative  quali- 
ties of  a  high  order  as  a  presiding  officer,  and  commanding  our 
respect  and  confidence  by  his  impartiality  and  fairness. 

Resolved,  That  he  had  endeared  himself  to  us  all  by  his  genial, 
open-hearted  and  social  disposition ;  that  he  was  ever  the  kind 
and  generous  friend,  the  wise  counsellor  and  devoted  brother, 
and  that  in  his  death  each  member  of  Bunting  Lodge  mourns  a 
personal  friend. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  not  alone  the  recollection  of  his  qualities 
as  a  Mason  that  we  shall  cherish  with  affectionate  regard,  but  as 
an  upright  man  he  had  entrenched  himself  in  the  hearts  of  this 
community,  and  the  fond  remembrance  in  which  he  is  held 
by  all  will  form  the  silver  lining  to  the  dark  cloud  which  hangs 
over  us. 

Resolved,  That,  recognizing  the  depth  of  sorrow  in  which  his 
family  are  plunged  we  extend  them  our  heartfelt  sympathy, 
commending  them  to  the  Supreme  Architect  on  high,  who 
maketh  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  those  who  love 
Him. 

,  Committee. 


12.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  FREEMASON. 

Whereas,  it  has  pleased  the  Supreme  Architect  of  the  Universe 
to  summon  from  this  terrestrial  Lodge  of  F.  &  A.  M.,  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  on  high,  our  beloved  Right  Worshipful  Brother, 
whose  faultless  record,  Qhristiar^  character,  genial  nature,  ctiurit- 


490  MEMORIAL     RESOLUTIONS. 

able  and  generous  spirit,  together  with  an  earnest  zeal,  and  un- 
tiring devotion  in  the  interests  of  Lodge  No.  — ,  developed  in 
our  hearts  for  him  the  profoundest  sentiments  of  affectionate 
regard  and  brotherly  love. 

Therefore,  be  it  Resolved,  That  while  we  reverently  and  de- 
voutly bow,  in  obedience  to  the  behests  of  that  being  whose 
ways  are  inscrutable  and  who  doeth  all  things  well,  in  removing 
from  this  life  our  deceased  brother,  we  desire  to  express  our 
deep  sense  of  the  irreparable  loss  sustained  in  the  death  of  one 
who,  with  eloquent  tongue  and  exemplary  hfe,  always  fittingly 
and  impressively  illustrated  the  cardinal  principles  that  consti- 
tute the  foundation  stones  upon  which  the  grand  superstructure 
of  Freemasonry  stands. 

Resolved,  That  we  share  deeply  in  the  sorrow  of  the  widow, 
the  children,  and  the  relatives  of  our  deceased  brother,  and 
hereby  tender  to  them  our  heartfelt  sympathy,  and  commend 
them  to  the  loving  and  tender  care  of  him  who  has  promised  to 
be  a  ''  Father  to  the  fatherless,"  and  a  "  Helper  to  the  widow." 

Resolved,  That  this  Lodge  be  suitably  draped  in  mourning,  as 
an  expression  of  the  grief  we  feel  for  the  loss  of  our  beloved 
brother  and  faithful  Worshipful  Master. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  the  minutes, 
and  that  an  engrossed  copy  of  the  same  be  transmitted  to  the 
widow  of  our  deceased  brother. 


13.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  MH^ITARY  OEFICER. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  resident  members  of  the  Third  Army 
Corps  Union,  held  in  New  York,  September  16,  the  following 
preamble  and  resolutions  were  adopted : 

Whereas,  The  Third  Army  Corps  Union  has  heard  with  deep 
regret  of  the  sudden  and  untimely  ending  of  the  life  of  our  much 

beloved  and  esteemed  comrade.   Captain  ,   while  in  the 

discharge  of  his  duty;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  this  sad  accident  has  taken  from  us  a  comrade 
and  companion  who  possessed  rare  virtues.  He  united  intelli- 
gence with  great  courage,  which,  together  with  an  earnest  desire 
to  do  his  whole  duty,  made  him  a  most  valuable  and  efficient 
public  officer.  He  was  a  true  and  devoted  liusband,  a  fond  and 
loving  father.  His  wife  and  children  honored  and  loved  him. 
He  endeared  himself  to  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him  by  his 
honest,  manly  and  straightforward  conduct.  He  contributed 
his  full  share  in  aiding  us  in  our  deliberations  when  considering 
the  welfare  of  our  cherished  organization. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  our  late  comrade  the  Third 
Army  Corps  XJniou  has  sustained  a  loss  of  oiie  of  its  mos^  valued 


MEMORIAL     RESOLUTIONS.  401 

members,  whose  genial  smile  and  cordial  greeting  was  one  of  the 
promised  gems  of  each  "Diamond"  reunion,  and  who,  though 
at  roll  call  missing,  will  hereafter  be  recorded  amongst  our  clus- 
ter of  heroes  who  willingly  sacrificed  life  in  the  performance  of 
duty. 

Resolved,  That  in  this  their  hour  of  trial  and  affliction,  we  ten- 
der to  his  bereaved  family  our  heartfelt  sympathj^ 

Resolved,  That  as  a  mark  of  respect  the  members  of  the  Third 
Army  Corps  Union  resident  in  this  city  attend  his  funeral  in  a 
body  and  follow  the  remains  of  our  beloved  comrade  to  their  last 
resting-place. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  suitably  engrossed, 
be  furnished  to  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and  that  the  same  be 
forwarded  to  the  secretary  for  record  on  the  minutes  of  our 
association. 

,  Chairman. 


14.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  DIRECTOR. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Directors  of  this Company,  the 

following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  the  Almighty,  in  his  profound  wisdom, 
to  remove  from  our  midst,  so  suddenly,  our  highly-honored  and 
beloved  friend ;  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved.  That  we  sincerely  and  deeply  sympathize  with  the 
family  and  friends  of  the  departed  in  their  so  unexpected  and 
severe  bereavement,  and  that  we  implore  kind  Providence  to 
comfort  them  in  this  their  hour  of  trial. 

Resolved,  That  we  express  our  heartfelt  and  most  solemn 
regret  at  the  loss  of  a  gentleman  so  worthy  of  the  highest  honor 
and  esteem  among  the  commercial  community,  so  devotedly  be- 
loved by  his  friends,  tenderly  attached  to  his  family,  and  who 
for  so  many  years,  at  the  head  of  one  of  our  first  importing 
houses,  by  his  strict  probity  and  untiring  industry,  successfully 
weathered  the  many  storms  which  swept  from  time  to  time  with 
ruinous  consequences  over  our  industrial  enterprises. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  token  of  the  high  esteem  and  respect  for 
the  departed,  the  Directors  of  this  Company  attend  the  funeral 
of  the  deceased  in  a  body. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  engrossed  and  handed  to 
the  family,  with  the  deepest  and  sincerest  regards,  and  the  same 
be  published  in  the  several  daily  papers, 


492  MEMORIAL    RESOLUTIONS, 


15.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  FIREMAN.    | 

At  a  meeting  of  the  officers  of  companies  of  the  Foiirth  bat- 
talion, held  on  the  loth  inst.,  the  following  preamble  arid  resolu- 
tions were  unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas,  we  have  received  the  painful  intelligence  of  the  un- 
timely death  of  our  Chief  of  Battalion ;  be  it,  therefore 

Resolved,  That  while  we  bow  with  submission  to  the  will  of 
an  allwlse  Providence,  it  is  due  that  wc  take  this  method  of 
showing  our  appreciation  of  one  who  in  the  discharge  of  his 
every  duty,  requiring  on  all  occasions  the  stern  qualities  of  a 
disciplinarian,  always  possessed  the  noble  instincts  of  ai  gentle- 
man. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Chief we  are  deprived 

of  a  genial  associate,  a  brave  commander,  and  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment one  of  its  most  faithful  officers. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  our 
sympathy  in  their  bereavement,  and  would  console  them  with 
the  belief  that  their  loss  is  his  gain,  and  he  who  doeth  all  things 
well  has  taken  him  to  the  home  of  eternal  happiness. 

Resolved,  That  out  of  respect  to  his  memory  we  attend  the 
funeral  and  wear  a  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days ;  also,  that 
a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  transmitted  to  the  family. 


16.  ON   THE    DEATH    OF   A  DIRECTOR   OF   AN" 
ATHEN^UM. 

Whereas,  an  inscrutable  Providence  has  suddenly  removed 
from  among  us  a  member  of  this  Board,  from  its  organization, 
until  his  recent  resignation,  the  Vice-President  of  this  institu- 
tion, and  one  of  its  principal  founders;  therefore. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  lament  the  loss  which  we  have  sus- 
tained in  the  death  of  one  whose  enlightened  zeal  and  liberal  and 
active  exertions  contributed  to  lay  so  broad  and  deep  the  founda- 
tion of  this  institution,  and  whose  continued  care  and  labor 
have  been  unceasing  for  the  promotion  of  its  usefulness  and 
prosperity. 

Resolved,  That  in  placing  upon  record  an  expression  of  our 
sorrow  at  this  afflictive  bereavement,  we  cannot  do  justice  to  our 
feelings  by  a  mere  compliance  with  the  forms  which  custom  has 
prescribed.  Such  an  expression  would  be  far  too  inadequate  to 
the  occasion.  Whilst  we  mourn  the  loss  of  a  founder  and  a 
beucfactor,  we  feel  that  by  his  death  this  commuinty  has  lost 


MEMOkiAL     HES  OL  tlTJONS.  49l] 

One  of  its  most  valuable  and  patriotic  citizens,  a  firm  friend  of 
constitutional  freedom,  whose  mind,  of  rich  scholarship,  rare 
accomplishments  and  practical  wisdom,  was  ever  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  literature  and  science,  and  to  the  great  work  of  social 
improvement. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  directed  to  communicate  a 
certified  copy  of  these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased, 
as  expressive  of  our  sympathy  in  their  deep  affliction. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  entered  upon  the  records 
of  the  Board,  and  be  published. 

,  Secretary. 


17.  ON  THE    DEATH    OF  A   IMEMBER   OF   A    LITERARY 

SOCIETY.     (Keystone  State  Normal  School.) 

Whereas,  the  hand  of  Providence  has  removed  our  beloved 
sister  from  the  scene  of  her  temporal  labors,  and  from  our  society, 
and  in  view  of  the  loss  we  have  sustained  by  the  death  of  our 
friend  and  sister,  and  of  the  still  greater  loss  sustained  by  those 
who  were  nearest  and  dearest  to  her,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  mourn  her  untimely  departure,  and 
sincerely  regret  the  loss  of  her  faithful  services  as  a  co-laborer  in 
our  literary  enterprise,  taking  refuge  in  the  thought,  however, 
that  after  having  ended  her  earthly  strife  she  has  at  last  joined 
the  blessed  society  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  earnest  and  heartfelt  sjTiipathies 
to  the  afflicted  family,  and  commend  them  for  consolation  to  Him 
who  orders  all  things  for  the  best,  and  whose  chastisements  are 
dealt  by  a  loving  hand. 

Resolved,  That  we  do  honor  to  her  memory  by  having  her 
name  arrayed  in  black  on  the  roll,  and  by  performing  all  the  rites 
due  on  so  solemn  an  occasion. 

Resolved,  That  the  above  resolutions  be  published  in  the 
ISFational  Weekly  Educator,  that  a  copy  thereof  be  placed  in 
the  archives  of  the  society  and  another  sent  to  the  parents  of 
the  deceased. 

,  Committee. 


18.  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  STUDENT. 

At   a   meeting    of   the    St.    Paul's  School, 

Concord,  Mass.,  the  following  resolutions  were  drafted  : 

Since  it  has  pleased  Almighty  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  in 


4i)4  xMEMORlAL    RESOLUTIONS. 

His  Providence,  to  remove  our  friend  and  classmate,  L.  F.  W., 
from  among  us  by  death,  we  desire  to  place  on  record  our  sense 
of  his  true  worth,  and  of  the  great  loss  and  affliction  the  school 
and  we  ourselves,  as  well  as  his  relatives  and  family,  have  sus- 
tained, and  we  accordingly 

Resolve,  That  we  unanimously  join  in  the  expression  of  our 
affectionate  regard  for  one  who  so  long  as  he  has  been  here  has 
led  a  blameless,  studious  life,  been  pure  and  reverend  in  word 
and  deed,  and  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge  and  belief  abstained 
from  every  wrong  v/ay.  That  we  thank  God  for  the  example 
which  he  set  before  us,  and  pray  that  we  may  have  grace  both  as 
boys  and  men  to  follow  it,  that  we  may  reach  the  same  happy 
rest  which  we  believe  he  has  now  entered. 

Asking  the  Divine  blessing  upon  the  school  and  ourselves  in 
particular  under  this  bereavement,  the  undersigned  append  their 
names  in  behalf  of  the  school. 


LIST  OF  AUTHORS  AND  CONTRIBUTORS. 


PAGE 

Anonymous .    43 

Armitage,  Thomas,  D.D. .   258 

Beecher,      Rev.       Henry 

Ward 47 

Bangs,  Nathan,  D.D 374 

Betts,  Rev.  Robert  Wye. .     57 

Bibby,  Rev.  Albert 406 

Binney,  Rev.  Thomas  168,  286, 

453 

Bonar,  Rev.  Andrew  R.220,  241 

Brown,  Rev.  Archibald  G.   206 

Bruoe,  John,  D.D 33 

Burder,  Rev.  H.  F 257 

Cattley,  Rev.  M.  A.  .      .     448 
Clayton,  Rev.  George   ...    280 

Cole,  Rev.  Thomas  J 260 

Cummino-,  John,  D.  D.200,  400 
Cuyler,  Theo.  L.,  D.D  35,  294 

Davis,  Rev.  Wesley  R 365 

Deems,  C.  F.,  D.D 196 

Dickson,  Alexander,  D.D. 

238,  245 

Dix,  Morgan,  D.D 208 

Dykes,  J.  Oswald,  D.D.  .     82 

Ellaby,  Rev.  Francis,  B.A.  125 
Evans,  Chas.  A 50 

Farrar,  Canon,  F.  W 204 


PAGE 

Fletcher,  Alex.,  D.D. . . .  442 

Forsyth,  Rev.  W 31 

Fowler,  Rev.  C.  H.,  D.D., 

LL.D 381 

Fisher,  Rev.  George  P 349 

Gasquoine,  Rev.  T 13 

Gebler,    Rev 24 

Gibson,  Rev.  R 142 

Graham,  Wm.,  D.D 26 

Guthrie,  Thomas, D.D.  302,  262 
Gwither,  Rev.  James  Henry  160 

Hall,  John,  D.D 227 

Hamilton,  James,  D.D    .  .  78 

Haslegrave,  Rev.  Joseph.  89 
Hitchcock,     Roswell    D., 

D.D 253 

Ilodgo,  Charles,  D.D 193 

Horwood,  Rev.  W.  D.   97, 154 

Howard,  J.  M.,  D.D 215 

Hughes,  Hugh,  D.D 424 

Hughes,  Rev.  James 101 

Hunt,  Alberts.,  D.D....  393 

Hyatt,  Rev.   Charles 331 

Ingram,  Rev.  Geo.  S 307 

Jay,  Rev.  Wm 202 

Jerdan,  Rev.   Charles   ...     76 

Landels,  William,  D.D. 236,  283 
[495] 


496    LIST  Off  AVTtlORS  AND    GONTRiUtJTOM. 


PAGB 

Liddon,  Canon H.P.,  D.D.  290 

Lincoln,  Rev.  Varnum . . .  15 

Lord,  Rev.  A.  E 130 

Macdonna,  Rev.  John  H. .  274 
Macduff,  J.  R,  D.D.. .   37,  191 

McCree,  Rev.  J.  W 21 

Macgregor,  Rev.  G.  D .  . .  23 
McClintock,    John,    D.D. 

LL.D 401 

McElrov,  J.,  D.D 212 

Melvill," Canon  H. .  . .   210,  270 

Moody,  D.  L 461 

Moore,   Rev.  Daniel,   217, 

225,  249 

Murray,  Rev.  Jas.,  M.A. .  419 

Newton,  John 373 

Orme,  Rev.  G 18 

Ormiston,  William,   D.D., 

LL.D 188 

Parsons,  Rev.  James 254 

Parsons,  Rev.  Edward...  318 

Paxton,  Wm.  M.,  D.D...  80 
Plumer,    Wm.     S.,    D.D. 

LL.D 410 

Punshon,  Rev.  Wm.  Mor- 

ley 85 


PAGE 

Raffles,    T.,  D.D.,    LL.D.  313, 
323 

Rees,  Rev.  Geo.  E   437 

Robertson,  Rev.  A.  S 14 

Rodwell,  Rev.  W 72 

Sanderson,  J.,  D.D 17,  20 

Scudder,  Henry  M.,  D.D.  271 
Spring,  Gardiner,  D.D. ...  256 
Spurgeon,     Rev.     G.     H. 

430,  230,  263,  265 

Smith,  Rev.  Thornley 28 

Smith,  Rev.  James 115 

Stanley,    A.     P.     (Dean), 

D.D 198 

Spra-^ue,  William,  D.D...  190 
Stowell,  Canon  Hugh 278 

Talmage,    T.     De     Witt, 

D.D 195 

Taylor,  W.  J.  R.,  D.D.  .  341 
Taylor,  Wm.  M.,  D.D    40,  472 

Thomas,  Rev.  U.  R 266 

Thomas,  David,  D.D.  276,  298, 

Todd,  John,  D.D 268 

Wagstaff,  Rev.  F   74 

Wayland,  Francis,  D.D.. .   356 

Williams,  W.  R.,  D.D 222 

Williams,  Rev.  B.  W 233 


TEXTUAL  lOTDEX. 


PACIB 

Gen.  xlii :  13.     And  one  is  not 18 

Gen.  xlviii :  21.    Behold  I  die,  but  God  shall  be  with  you 257 

Gen.  xlix  :  18.     I  have  waited  for  thy  salvation,  O,  Lord 220 

Gen.  1 :  24.     I  die  and  God  will  surely  visit  you 227 

Num.  xxiii :  10.    Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  &o  . .  208 
Deut.  iii  :  25,  27.     I  pray  thee  let  me  go  over  and  see  the  good 

land  that  is  beyond  Jordan Thou  shalt  not  go  over 

this  Jordan 26 

Deut.  iii  :  25.     I  pray  thee  let  me  go  over  and  see  the  good 
land  that  is  beyond  Jordan,  that  goodly  mountain  and 

Lebanon , 331 

Joshua  i  :  11.     Prepare  your  victuals  ;  for  within  three  days 

ye  shall  pass  over  this  Jordan 245 

Joshua  iii  :   17.     And  the  priests  that  bare  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant  of  the  Lord  stood  firm  on  dry  ground  in  the 

midst  of  Jordan 195 

2  Sam.  iii  :  38.     A  great  man  fallen  this  day  in  Israel 260 

2  Sam.  xii :  23.     Can  I  bring  him  back  again  ?    I  shall  go  to 

him,  but  he  shall  not  return  to  me 40 

1  Kings  xxi  :  13.     And  there  came  in  two  men,  children  of 

Belial,  and  sat  before  him  ;  and  the  men  of  Belial 
witnessed  against  him,  even  against  Naboth,  in  the 
presence  of  tne  people,  saying,  Naboth  did  blaspheme 
God  and  the  King.  Then  they  carried  him  forth  out 
of  the  city,  and  stoned  him  with  stones,  that  he  died 424 

2  Sam.  xii  :  23.     I  shall  go  to  him,  but  he  shall  not  return  to 

me 15 

1  Kings  vii  :  22.     Upon  the  top  of  the  pillars  was  lily  work. . .  365 

1  Kings  xiv  :  13.     Because  in  him  there  is  found  some  good 

thing  toward  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 57 

2  Kings  iv  :  20.     He  sat  on  her  knees  till  noon,  and  then  died.     31 
2  Kings  iv  :  26.     Is  it  well  with  the  child  ?  And  she  answered, 

Itiswell 33 

Job  v  :  26.     Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age  like 
as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in,  in  his  season 265 

[497] 


498  TEXTUAL    INDEX. 

Job  xiv  :  14.     Shall  he  live  again  ? 268 

Job  xvi  :  22.     When  a  few  years  are  come,  then  I  shall  go 

the  way  whence  1  shall  not  return 274 

Job  xviii :  14.     The  King  of  terrors ...  233 

Job  XXX  :  23.     I  know  thou  wilt  bring  me  to  death,  &c 200 

Job  xxxviii  :  17.  Have  the  gates  of  death  been  opened  unto 
thee  ?  or  hast  thou   seen  the  doors  of   the  shadow  of 

death  ? 298 

Job  xix  :  26,  27.  And  though  after  m}''  skin  worms  destroy 
this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God  ;  whom  I  shall 
see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold  and  not  an- 
other ;  though  my  rems  be  consumed  within  me 302 

Job  xix  :  25,  26.     I  know    .     .     .     that  in  my  flesh  shall  I 

see  God 318 

Ps.  xxiii  :  4,     Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley,  &c 191 

Ps.  xxxvi :  6.     Thy  judgments  are  a  great  deep "- 453 

Ps.  xxxix  :  4.  Lord,  make  me  know  mine  end,  and  the 
measure  of  my  days,  what  it  is  ;  that  I  may  know  how 

frail  I  am 125 

Ps.  Ixxi  :  5.     Thou  art  my  trust  from  my  youth 21 

Ps.  xc  :  9.     We  spend  our  years  as  a  tale  that  is  told 76 

Ps.  xc  :  9.     We  spend  our  years  as  a  tale  that  is  told 80 

Ps.xc:  12.     So  teach  us  to  number  our  days  that  we  may 

apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom 323 

Ps.  cxvi  :  15.     Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  is  the  death 

of  his  saints 215 

Eccles.  iii  :  4.     A  time  to  mourn 442 

Eccles.  vii :  1.     The  day  of  death  is  better  than  the  day  of 

one's  birth 307 

Eccles.  vii  :  1.  A  good  name  is  better  than  precious  oint- 
ment and  the  day  of  death  than  the  day  of  one's  birth 230 

Eccles.  viii  :  10.  And  so  I  saw  the  wicked  buried,  who  had 
come  and  gone  from  the  place  of  the  holy,  and  they  were 
forgotten  in  the  city,  where  they  had  so  done  ;  this  ia 

also  vanity '. 430 

Eccles.  viii  :  8.     There  is  no  discharge  in  that  war 266 

Eccles.  viii  :  8.     There  is  no  discharge  in  that  war 232 

Eccles.  xii  :  7.     Then  shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it 

was,  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God  who  gave  it 271 

Cant,  viii  :  6.     Love  is  strong  as  death 206 

Isa.  xi :  6.     A  little  child  shall  lead  them 43 

Isa.  xl :  2.     Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jerusalem  and  cry  unto 

her  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished 280 

Isa.  xl  :  6.     The  voice  said  cry,  and  he  said  what  shall  I  cry  ? 

All  flesh  is  grass,  &c 313 

Isa.  xl  :  7.     The  flower  fadeth,  because  the  spirit  of  the  Lord 

bloweth  upon  it 101 

Isa.  xl  :  8.  The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth,  but  the 
word  of  our  God  shall  stand  for  ever 390 


TEXTUAL    INDEX.  499 

PAGB 

isa.  Ivii  :  2.     He  shall  enter  into  peace  ;  they  shall  rest  in 

their  beds,  each  one  walking  in  his  uprightness 89 

Isa.  Ivii :  1,  2.     The  lighteous  is  taken  away  from  the  evil  to 

come,  &c 37 

Isa.  Ixiv  :  G.     We  all  do  fade  as  a  leaf 236 

Jer.  V  :  31.     What  will  ye  do  in  the  end  ? 168 

Ezekiel  xx  :  48.     And  all  flesh  shall  see  that  I  the  Lord  have 

kindled  it  •  it  shall  not  be  quenched 448 

Jer.  XV  :  9.     Her  sun  is  gone  done  while  it  was  yet  day 72 

Daniel  xii  :  8.     And  they  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  bright- 

nes-s  of  the  firmament ;    and  they  that  turn  many  to 

riofhteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever 349 

Micah^vi  :  9.     Hear  ye  the  rod,  and  who  hath  appointed  it. . .     23 
Zech.  i  :  5.     Your  fathers,  where  are  they  ?  and  the  prophets, 

do  they  live  forever  ? 286 

Matt,  ii  :  18.     Rachel  weeping  for  her  children 14 

Matt,  xviii  :  2.     Jesus  called   a  little  child  unto  him  and  set 

him  in  the  midst  of  them. 35 

Matt,  xviii :  14.     It  is  not  the  will  of  your  father  which  is  in 

heaven  that  one  of  these  little  ones  should  perish 13 

Matt,  xxiv  :  8.     To  what  purpose  is  this  waste  ? 20 

Matt.  XXV :  21.     Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant,  &c.  193 
Matt,  xxvi :  24.     It  had  been  good  for  that  man  if  he  had  not 

been  born 410 

Matt,  xxviii  :    8.     They  departed  quickly  from  the  sepulcher 

with  fear  and  great  joy,  &c 238 

Mark  iv  :  28.     First  the  blade 57 

Mark  v  :  39.     The  damsel  is  not  dead  but  sleepeth 74 

Mark  xvi :  6.     Behold  the  place  where  they  laid  him 210 

Luke  vii:  11-17.     And  it  came  to  pass  the  day  after  that  he 

went  into  a  city  called  Nain,  &c 24 

Luke  vii:   12.      Behold  there  was  a  dead  man  carried  out, 

the  only  son  of  his  mother,  and  she  was  a  widow 154 

Luke  vii:  13.     When  the  Lord  saw  her  he  had  compassion 

on  her,  and  said  unto  her,  weep  not 82 

Luke  vii:   14.     Young  man,  1  say  unto  thee,  arise 78 

Luke  xviii:  17    Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of 

God  as  a  little  child,  shall  in  no  wise  enter  therein 50 

Luke  XX :  36.      Neither  can  they  die  any  more;  for  they  are 

equal  unto  the  angels;  and  are  the  children  of  God,  being 

the  children  of  the  resurrection 28 

Luke  xxvi:  34.     The  Lord  is  risen  indeed 258 

Johnv:  35.      He  was  a  burning  and  a  shining  light,  and  ye 

were  willing  for  a  season  to  rejoice  in  his  light 341 

John  xi:  25.     Jesus  said  unto  her,  I  am  the  resurrection  and 

the  life 85 

John  xi:  25.    I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life 256 

John  xvii:  24.    Father,  I  will  that  those  also  whom  thou  hast 

given  me  be  with  me,  &c 212 

Rom.  viii:  21.      The  creature  itself  also  shall  be  delivered 
from  the  bondage  of  corruption 204 


500  TEXTUAL    INDEX. 

PAGS 

1  Cor.  XV .  19.     If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  vjq 

are  of  all  men  most  miserable 4X9 

Rom.  xiv:  7.     No  man  dieth  unto  himself 196 

i.  Cor.  XV :  21.     For  since  by  man  come  death,  by  man  came 

also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead 278 

1  Cor.  XV :  35,  36.     How  are  the  dead  raised  up,  &c 270 

1  Cor.  XV :  56,  57.     The  sting  of  death  is  sin  and  the  strengh 
of  sin  is  the  law;  but  thanks  be  to  God  which  giveth  us 

the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 263 

1  Cor.  XV :  57.      Thanks  be  to  God  which  giveth  us  the  vic- 
tory, &c 202 

Phil,  i:  21.     To  live  is  Christ  and  to  die  is  gain 198 

Phil,  i:   23.     Having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ 

which  is  far  better 130 

Col.  i:  5.     The  hope  which  was  laid  up  for  you  in  heaven. . .  254 

Col.  i:  18.    The  firstborn  from  the  dead 262 

1  Thess.  iv:    13.      I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  ' 
brethren,  concerning  them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sor- 
row not,  even  as  others  which  have  no  hope 283 

1  Thess.  iv:   14.     For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died,  and  rose 
again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God 

bring  with  him 294 

1  Thess.  iv:  14.     Them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus 160 

1  Thess.  iv:  17.     So  shall  we  be  ever  with  the  Lord 241 

1  Thess.  iv:  18.     Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these 
words 217 

1  Tim.  iv:  6.     A  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ 437 

2  Tim.  i:  10.      Who  hath  abolished  death,  and  hath  brought 

life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the  gospel 115 

2  Tim.  iv:  6-8.     For  I  am  now  ready lo  be  offered,  &c 142 

2  Tim.  iv:   6,  7,  8.     1  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  &c 190 

Heb.  ii:  15.      And  deliver  them  who  through  fear  of  death 

were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage 225 

Heb.  xi:  13.     These  all  died  in  faith    .     .     .     and  confessed 

that  they  were  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth 249 

Heb.  xi:  21.     By  faith,  Jacob,  when  he  was  a  dying,  blessed 

both  the  sons  of  Joseph,  and  worshipped  leaning  upon 

the  top  of  his  staff 276 

Rev.  ii :  10.     Be  thou  faithful  unto  death  and  I  will  give  thee 

a  crown  of  light 25S 

Rev.  iii :  12.      Him  that  overcometh  will  I  make  a  pillar  in 

the  temple  of  my  God 365 

Rev.  xii :  5.     And  her  child  was  caught  up  unto  God  and  to 

his  throne 17 

Rev.  xiv:  13.     Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord 

from  henceforth  ;  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may 

rest  from  their  labors;  and  their  works  do  follow  them. ..  97 
Itev.  2dv:  13.    Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord. ...  188 


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